Book Review: The Road to Grace

Road to Grace

The Road to Grace; Finding True Freedom from the Bondage of Sexual Addiction
not surprisingly, is a story of a journey. Author Mike Genung was a sexual addict who struggled to find answers and release from his troubles. He records the ups and downs in this 2006 volume from Blazing Grace Publishing of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Mike’s story begins in 1991 when he accepts that he is a sexual addict. He is married to a lovely wife but finds pornography so alluring that he cannot walk away from it. His greatest struggles were the days he spent traveling as a salesman. He spent long hours, alone, in a hotel room filling his mind with pay-per-view and free porn from the television networks. Guilt and shame always followed the next day but the pull was too great, Mike was hooked.

His attempt and coming clean had failed. A marriage retreat and a brief conversation with the preacher drove him deeper into humiliation and embarrassment. He felt isolated.

“I think most people still see pornography as I once did: a problem on the fringes of society, something a few dirty old men go to grimy adult bookstores in the industrial part of town to buy”

He is correct however, that porn is no longer about dirty old men.

“Today the grim reality is that porn is as American as apple pie and many Christians are feasting on it.”

Mike’s answer to his problem required disclosure. The secret had to be shattered but that was exactly what he did not want to do. He says, “Like every other man, I tried everything I could to avoid exposing my sexual sin to another.” He tried to free himself from lust but could not. On one occasion he even cut the plug off of the TV power cord in his hotel room. That failed. Before the night was over he had spliced the cords back together but accidentally crossed  the wire shorting out his entire room.

Genung tried a 12 step program and had some success. But the lust was still there. He wasn’t free. Mike realized that he had to eliminate the things that caused him lust. He had to take every stumbling block away. “We are to boldly approach the stumbling blocks of lust, viciously hack them off and throw them away, regardless of any pain or loss.”

Mike discovers that while many things can help, only God can fully remove the ugly heart and replace it with one that is new, fresh and not marred by sin.

Mike’s journey is not new. Many have struggled to find their own answers and fix their lives alone. He won’t work. Jesus can and will aid the journey.

Sexual addiction, or any addiction for that matter, is serious business. Addictions are more than bad habits. Neural pathways and brain chemistries are changed in an addicts brain. Professional help is needed. Mike Genung used resources to help him break free but in the end, the indispensible resource was the love of a Savior.

I commend The Road to Grace to all men. At 223 pages plus some back of the book resources, it’s an easy read.

[The Road to Grace was provided to the Preacher’s Study Blog free of charge with a request for a review. Clicking on the links above and purchasing the book will result in a small financial benefit to the website.]

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