I am fond of computers and technology. Technology does much to enhance our lives and can make us more productive (Though, it can actually work in the reverse). The rise of the computer and high speed internet brought about a brand new world for pornography. This issue is front and center for the church. In fact, I believe that pornography is one of the great battles that we in the church must fight. Tim Challies wrote a really interesting article today comparing porn to the adulteress woman in Proverbs. Challies warns,
“We have the better part of a generation of young men who are giving their strength to this forbidden woman.”
The church is right to be concerned and is right to fight against this destructive and addictive sin. But, I believe that we as the church have often fought the battle too late. there is no shortage of filtering and accountability software available for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices to help a person fight against the temptation to slip into this sin. Nevertheless, these are often targeted toward people who are already deep into sin, much the way that 12 step programs are geared toward alcoholics.
The church must look to expand its war against pornography beyond software. Parents must become the primary actors in this battle, and the primary weapons must be hardware rather than software. Pornography is only available if its delivery devices are available. Parents, do your children have unfettered access to the internet? We as church leaders have long encouraged parents to avoid putting computers into bedrooms, but the need for protecting our children must go beyond the computer. Parents, you need to fight the battle against porn by doing all you can to remove the temptation.
A few simple ideas include having a central charging station for the whole household where phones and mobile devices are to be placed each night. Internet modems and routers can also be set up to automatically turn themselves off and on at set times. Regardless of what decisions are made, it is better to remove the temptation. Of course, the benefits to having teens and mobile devices separated at night far our weigh the hindrance. The opportunity for your kids to rest all night without interruption of texting or facebooking can hardly be overstated.
In short, early intervention is key. We work to make sure that kids avoid bad company by keeping them out of compromising situations. The reality is that there are literally millions of compromising situations awaiting your children and teenagers on the internet, and they can visit these from the comfort of your home. Of course, prying phones and iPads from the hands of your kids will not be easy, but you are the parent after all, and doing hard things for their good is your job. You can also lead by example, there’s really no reason to tempt yourself with unfettered access to your mobile devices after everyone else has gone to bed.
