By Pastor Todd Baucum
Psalm 101:3 (ESV)
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
Job 31:1 (ESV)
"I have made a covenant with my eyes;
how then could I gaze at a virgin?
This is a pastoral response to many issues surrounding the use of the internet. I have been reflecting on these issues for many years and see increasingly the need for the church to address this. I share these guidelines not out of a legalistic mindset, but from a heart of a pastor who sees the wreckage of lives caught in a destructive use of the internet. I hope everyone will read this carefully and thoughtfully as they consider how to approach the issue of the internet, which is now shaping our world.
1. Treat emails as personal correspondence that is confidential unless the sender has given permission for public viewing. I know people who have been hurt or offended and relationships damaged because they took personal information and sent it out without checking the facts or getting permission.
2. Use good grammar as much as possible. This is still written communication and although technology helps us increase the speed of communication, we are still under certain restraints and rules for good communication. Grammar was established to help clarify one’s meaning to insure proper translation of thought. Badly written emails can mess up things quickly in jobs and relationships.
3. Think twice before you resend a forward sent to you. Is this worth someone reading? This does not apply to forwards sent to you for wide viewing – but it is good taste not to send these to people you like! I spend so much of my precious time deleting religious/humorous stories, pictures and poems, I wish I had a dollar for all the ones I get.
4. Don’t fall prey to gossip. Be very careful not to let your email “community” turn into a gossip forum. Scripture speaks strongly against the sin of gossip. Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler. Proverbs 20:19 (ESV) What internet porn is for men, Facebook and the like is for women. It is a form of emotional and social porn. Men are drawn seductively into images, women are drawn seductively into juicy pieces of “news about people”, which the Bible condemns as heavily as murder, perversion and idolatry.
5. Watch what you write. Remember that in writing something down people are more apt to express feelings and sensitive things you would never say face to face. It is a simple fact that we have more courage with written words than spoken ones.
6. Blogsites and Face-books can be dangerous places. Don’t write anything, post any picture or give personal information that you don’t want millions of people to know. Blogs are great for spreading the Christian truth and ministry issues. Don’t use them for personal and private exchanges that you want confidential. If it is on the web it means millions can see it. Even with the safeguards that some blogs provide, it is still vulnerable to others getting into your private information. Also, these can become a substitute for real life communication. Don’t assume people know something just because you posted it. Not everyone sits up late at night reading your blogs. Some people have lives and are not attached to computers.
7. Internet communities are not real communities. Just because I buy something from L.L. Bean does not mean I am part of their community. (I just wanted a shirt without driving to Dothan). Chat rooms and the Face-books are not communities. Community happens when people interact with words, gestures, and eye contact and build relationships in real places (not in cyberspace). Christian philosopher, Douglas Groothuis puts it well, “Genuine community shines through the human presence of truth expressed personally. Cyberspace can only mimic or mirror these things (however convincingly); it cannot create them.” (The Soul in Cyberspace, Baker Books, pg. 143,
8. Don’t use the internet for dating. Finding a mate on the internet is problematic at best, at worst it can led to disastrous results. For every story of success there are probably ten examples of nightmares. I have counseled abused people who have gotten things messed up because of this. Why am I against it? Consider some of these reasons:
9. The problem of secrecy. Most people looking for a spouse or a date, use the internet in a secretive way. Their parents or friends rarely know about this activity. That is not good.
10. The lack of community (Christian) protection. It provides an unnatural network of suitors whose only qualification is that they have access to the internet. It is a dangerous and creepy world out there. I can’t say this enough!
11. You cannot know a person through emails and the internet. It is a fact. People can pretend to be anything on paper and through their computers. Remember intelligent people create whole new worlds on the internet and Hollywood gives them millions of dollars for it. Computers are wonderful things for what they can do, but don’t trust them to give you reality.
12. Parents need to know and act. Children, teenagers and young adults are the victims of increasing violence due in large part to the growing issues of internet usages. I don’t suggest that we throw out the computers, but I do suggest that parents set guidelines and give proper oversight of the use of computers. You will do this if you value their life. Take action now.
13. Save your marriage and your purity. Married couples need to watch out for one another and make sure you limit time on the internet. Spend more time talking to one another than surfing the internet or chatting to cyber friends. Wives make sure you have a Christian based internet blocker that keeps your husband from temptation. Husbands make sure you make a covenant with your eyes and flee from temptation (Job 31:1,1 Cor. 6:18). Having an internet without a blocker with strict controls is like having an adult XXX store in your spare bedroom and saying, “It’s ok we always keep the door shut and no one goes in that room”. Human nature suggest that at sometime or another that door will open, because it is so easy and we rationalize what we can handle and can’t. It is the old forbidden fruit story over and over again. I use Be Safe Online which is recommended by American Family Radio. There are other good Christian ones and don’t rely on the factory installed blockers. They are easily bypassed. Find some accountability to stay godly in this area of your imagination and thought life. Statistics show that over 80 percent of revenue for pornography comes today from internet usage. Internet pornography revenue is the highest money making industry today having bypassed the gambling industry. For more information and Biblical guidance on this issue read the article by Harvest USA (a ministry to sexually broken people) at http://www.harvestusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=56 .
14. Internet can save time and kill it. Determine how you use your time with the computer and use it wisely. Remember to “redeem” the time for the days are evil. You can easily squander away precious time in front of a computer when you could have called a relative, had coffee with a friend, been praying for the needs of others, or just having the ordinary joy of opening the pages of a real book in your hand.
15. I am convinced that future studies will show a connection between computer usage and the rapid decline of morality and community breakdown. Like anything else that can be used for good or evil, set boundaries and use with wisdom and discretion.
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