Question:
Hey,
I couldn’t find any answers to my question so I was wondering if you could please help answer it. Is it a sin to write or read smut?
Answer:
The word “smut” means dirt or soot. It is also used to refer to a fungus that infects grain, which causes the grain to look dirty. In current slang, “smut” refers to a style of writing that is sexually explicit and often targets female audiences. An example would be romance novels that, while having well-developed stories, include sexually explicit scenes described in detail. In essence, it refers to verbal pornography.
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God” (I Thessalonians 4:3-5).
“Lustful passion” refers to passionate things that are designed to generate lust in a person. This doesn’t have to be limited to visual depictions. It can include verbal depictions or inappropriate behavior.
Lusts are wrong because they make sinful behavior appear to be justified. Paul points out in I Thessalonians 4:3-5 that lust will lead to a lack of self-control and a lack of self-control will lead to sinful behavior, such as fornication.
Therefore, it is wrong to write or to read material designed to create a desire for sin within you.