by Mike Genung
I’ve never heard of a guy who couldn’t get around a porn filter when he wanted to.
Once the pull to seek out lust hits and they give in, the challenge to see if they can get around the porn filter has a way of intensifying the hunger for lust and the excitement of the chase. When a man is committed to going after a lust hit, the best a porn filter can do is slow him down.
My take on porn filtering software is as follows:
- Porn filtering software is at its best for those who aren’t looking for porn, especially children. In today’s environment it’s not wise to have unfiltered internet access in your home with young, curious minds around.
- Porn filtering software buys the average man or woman addicted to porn a few minutes to think. As they begin the game of getting around the porn filter, the Holy Spirit can start working on them… “Do you really want this? Remember how you felt the last time you masturbated to pornography? Think about how it will feel when you have to look your wife and children in the eyes, knowing that you’ve fallen again. What will it do to your relationship with Me?”
Sometimes this weight of conviction can persuade the user to shut the computer down and walk away. If not, they will have to harden their heart, ignore the promptings of the Lord, and throw themselves deeper into the well of depravity.
- The best solution, especially for those who are married, is to use software that emails a list of every website you’ve visited to a friend or accountability partner. For husbands, this means having the email sent to your wife. If I’m about to click on a link that I know will take me to a porn site and the porn filtering software won’t stop it, the knowledge that I have to tell someone about it afterward will cause me to stop and think about my next step.
However, if I know my wife is going to see the link, which may have a smutty title, it’s going to freak me out. The idea of hurting her, or risking the fallout that will come from angering her is enough to forcefully invade my thought processes. The consequences are too sharp not to ignore them.
For those who are single, your best option is to have the emails sent to someone who cares about you and who you know would be disturbed if they saw you were viewing porn. The more pain that is involved with the consequences of viewing pornography, the better.
Having porn filtering software is a good idea, it’s just that we should be aware of its limitations. It will not prevent someone who’s addicted to porn from accessing it once they’ve made the decision to go after it. The best solution is porn filtering software that is combined with an email accountability feature that also doesn’t slow down your system.