I recently spent some time with LifeChurch.tv’s Sam Roberts.
Sam is a great friend, father, leader, husband and he absolutely loves Jesus more than life!
So as Sam and I were talking we started in on the topic of internet filters. Good idea? Bad idea? What filter is the best?
And by the time the convo was over, we landed in a pretty strange place.
We both believe that internet filters are a good idea, but both agreed that sometimes parents choose internet filters to do the job of the Holy Spirit.
What!!?!
How in the heck did we land there?
Give me just a second to explain.
So God’s Word tells us that the Holy Spirit is a helper, comforter and guide. The role of the Holy Spirit is to speak to and convict our hearts when we walk away from God.
The job of the Spirit is to convict our kids when they watch questionable content on the internet. The job of the Spirit is to help our kids when they find themselves living in between good and evil. The job of the Spirit is to guide our kids when their mind starts to stray from the path of God. The job of the Spirit is to show up when are kids are doing what kids do.
So before you start sending me hate mail…just know that I DO think that internet filters are a great idea. Team Sprad uses them!
However…
I am convicted that I teach my kids more about safe surfing that I do about the Supernatural Spirit.
As parents we must take the time to teach our kids that the Spirit of God is present, that the Spirit of God is an escape hatch, that the Spirit of God is always speaking, that the Spirit of God will guide them into purity.
Interested in learning more about the Holy Spirit? You should order Francis Chan’s book Forgotten God.
So where do you land? Do you think parents should say no to internet filters?
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Totally agree! Not against filters at all but have chosen NOT to use them with my boys (now age 14 & 16). Instead, I’ve taken responsibility to check regularly (usually weekly) on all their devices (they know I better not find an erased “history” section!). Then I focus on the conversations to help them learn to make good decisions and WHY they have to be so careful. When they are away from our home, or once they’re off to college a filter isn’t any use – they need to be making wise decisions on their own.
this is good stuff Greg. Love how you parent the heart my friend.
I agree with the overall emphasis here. Ultimately, we have to teach our children to wisely navigate a fallen world in a Christ-like manner. Protecting them from the possibility of making a poor decision is not a permanent solution that translates into adulthood. On the other hand, I also know that I’ve had my own experiences with inadvertantly accessing pornographic material online. Several years ago with my 7-year daughter standing behind me at my desk, I quickly typed the address for Facebook into Internet Explorer, then turned around only to hear my daughter say, “Mom…what is THAT on your computer??” I turned back to face my computer only to find my oversized flat screen filled with pornographic images. I had mistyped the URL and that mistake took me to a porn site. Internet filters prevent or minimize that accidental exposure.
Cheryl you are right on! I think filters are GREAT for protecting the little ones. It should be a combo approach, I think.
I think a combination approach is warranted. Why expose my kids (or myself) to garbage unnecessarily? Teach into the “why” behind the use of filters. Of course, those filters aren’t perfect. That’s where heart training is crucial, once again. God is pursuing our hearts and the hearts of our children.. Anything we can do to facilitate that process is invaluable.
Btw, I agree with your recommendation of Forgotten God. It’s a stellar book.
I agree with filters but I am also extra vigilant and will type in urls for my chidlren to use the computer and I am close at hand to chekc what they are doing.
Parents say no to filtering? Are you crazy? Install filtering with accountability reporting AND be extra vigilant. There is not a kid on the net that cannot cover their tracks.
Get a really good one that is highly customizable and work with it until you get it the way you want. Activate accountability reporting so that you can have an unerasable history and that will send you email alerts when someone is trying to get past the filter while you are out or asleep.
There are also filters that can be configured to only allow access at certain times of day…all individually password protected to a customized level for each user. We use one called wisechoice at http://www.wisechoice.net