(Graphics in this post are from the George Barna article linked at the end of this post)
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)
If you’re not at all interested in porn — WONDERFUL!! — but you must continue to guard your heart because “Satan is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour!!” Any believer is susceptible to temptation given the wrong circumstances and the wrong meditations. However…your teenager may already be involved! You have filters? Good. Your teenager knows that most filters do not affect “apps” — they know their way around the filters. Access to this garbage is amazingly easy in today’s culture. Consider these 5 actions to protect your heart and your home:
1. Know the passwords on all electronic devices in your home. Your spouse should know your password (or at least half of it). This is not an invasion of privacy. We have too much privacy today and not enough accountability! When we know others will check out our devices, computers, tablets, phones, etc….we think twice about clicking on or searching for things we ought never see. “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.” (Eph. 5:3-4)
2. Install a good filter on ALL devices in your home. I am surprised at times at how many believers do not have a good filter on their smart phone or tablet or computer. Some say, I’m not looking for that stuff, so it’s not a problem for me. Okay, good! But this “stuff” is looking for you! One exposure is too many. Please get a filter on everything this week. Ask trusted friends at church what they are using…choose one…and get it installed ASAP!
3. The men in the house should not know the password. Statistically, men are more likely to use porn. So, don’t give the password to the men. Some households divide the password: the wife knows half and the husband knows half. A filter is no good if someone is disabling the filter with the password. Is a man unwilling to have a filter or turn over the password rights? Why?! That is a troubling sign indeed. What doesn’t the man want others to know about his electronic device usage? There will be a day when it will all be revealed! “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12) In the end, each person must make his or her choice…it will be that choice for which we will give an account before the all-knowing, ever-present one true God.
4. Limit the time spent on electronic devices. Put the smart phone down…turn off the computer or tablet — and step away from the counter with your hands in the air!! This is not just a “guarding your heart issue.” This is also a communication issue. One college professor told me not too long ago, that one of the biggest challenges they face with incoming freshman is face-to-face communication. They struggle communicating without electronics! However, give them a phone to text you (while you are standing right in front of them) and they are fine. Even more so, the family unit is suffering from “EDO” — Electronic Device Overload (I made that up…it’s not an official diagnosis from a doctor, that I know of…yet…)! Believers, don’t bring your phones to the dinner table….don’t text a friend while someone else is talking to you in person…get off your phone when checking out at the grocery line…and stop texting while you are driving! You and I can survive without our smart phones for longer periods of time than we think (LOL).
George Barna, a Christian pollster, just published a study on the use of pornography in modern day culture and within the modern day church. There are many forms of pornography, just as there are many forms of recreational drugs. To some, there are forms of pornography that are acceptable and that they can “control” or “stop any time I want to.” However, a person soon realizes “stopping” the use of porn is easier said than done. More importantly, one using porn will also need to come to the reality that a change of heart is needed before a change of action will ever take place. We must guard our hearts!
Check out Barna’s new study on pornography and the church here: https://www.barna.org/research/culture-media/research-release/porn-in-the-digital-age-new-research-reveals-10-trends?utm_source=Barna+Update+List&utm_campaign=20c22a58ed-Barna_Update_Porn_in_the_Digital_Age_New4_3_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8560a0e52e-20c22a58ed-172198489&mc_cid=20c22a58ed&mc_eid=873f8094cc#.VwaJ74-cHIX