Do you have access to the Internet? These days, we’re online in our homes, workplaces, classrooms, libraries—even the coffee shop! In fact, I’m online as I write this, sitting on my couch with a wireless laptop.

Now my second question: do you filter your Internet? That is, have you taken any steps to make your computer (or ISP) automatically block pornographic web sites? The reason I ask is because I’m amazed at the number of Christians who have unfiltered Internet access in their homes. Why am I amazed? Because I work on the Internet every day, and I’ve seen the dark side. Trust me, people—the Internet can be a very ugly place.

A few statistics for you:

• Nine out of 10 children between 8-16 years old have viewed pornography on the Internet. (London School of Economics January 2002)
• Sex is the #1 searched for topic on the Internet. (Dr. Robert Weiss, Sexual Recovery Institute, Washington Times 1/26/2000)
• 60% of all web-site visits are sexual in nature. (MSNBC/Standford/Duquesne Study, Washington Times, 1/26/2000)

If you are one of the many people with unfiltered Internet access in your home, there’s no better time than now to block the smut. Think of it like this—if you paid for television every month and got free adult channels, would you take steps to cut off access? Or would you just assume that no one in your house would click to that channel (even accidentally)?

I want to remove any arguments we might have to not filtering our Internet. So here are my answers to common excuses:

There are free accountability programs available online (visit x3watch.com) and the industry’s top filter for PC (NetNanny), costs only $39.95. The best I’ve found for you Mac lovers is Intego’s Content Barrier. It’s a little more expensive ($59.95) but does a great job. You can also forego the filtering software and get filtered Internet access through a “clean” ISP. Just Google for “filtered isp” and you’ll find many good service providers with great prices.

NetNanny is simple to set up, as are most filtering programs. If this is the only thing holding you back, though, I’ll do it for you. Seriously… just give me a call.

Your pride is endangering (and possibly hurting) your family. Ask God to help you get over it so you can deal with the issue!

Filtering your Internet access is cheap and easy to do. As Christians (many of us with children in our homes) it is the right thing to do. No more excuses, folks—do it today!