Blog
“Spiritual Wisdom and the Internet”
Categories: Sermons
The Internet is one of the most powerful inventions in human history. If we use it to seek the Lord, it can accomplish great things for Him. Without the Internet, I certainly wouldn’t be able to blog, and I probably wouldn’t be able to write hymns. This is to say nothing, of course, of the many opportunities the online world gives us to encourage one another.
However, anything so powerful is also dangerous. Fire can warm us, but it can also consume us. So too with the Internet. Used wisely, it can be powerfully edifying. Used foolishly, it can be powerfully destructive. Let’s consider, then, the subject of spiritual wisdom and the Internet.
First, we must BE CAREFUL WHAT WE SEE. Consider our Lord’s wise words on the subject in Matthew 6:22-23. If we look at good things, they will elevate and ennoble us. On the other hand, if we look at evil things, they will degrade and corrupt us.
This starts, of course, with pornography. I’m sure all of you have heard multiple sermons about porn, and yet I’m equally sure that it continues to be a problem in this congregation and in congregations all across the country. There are so many ill effects from porn use that I hardly know where to begin. Like most sins, it tends to be addictive. The more we use it, the less we enjoy it. It enslaves us so that we seek out viler and viler things for less and less reward. Thus, passing pleasures of porn lead us to lasting misery. Porn is also destructive of our relationships, relationships with present and future spouses, but especially our relationship with God. We may think that we have concealed our habit from others, but we have not hidden it from Him.
Porn, however, is not the only thing on the Internet that is sinful and tempts us to sin. Lying is a sin, outbursts of wrath are a sin, contentiousness is a sin, divisiveness is a sin, and there are millions of websites that promote falsehood, anger, contention, and division. Sad to say, brethren are often very open about their patronage of these sites, especially in the political realm, because their prejudices blind them to the dangers. As a rule, friends, any time we read something that confirms the best that we want to believe about our political side or confirms the worst that we want to believe about the other side, the site is probably lying! If we uncritically swallow this dangerous brew of falsehood and bitterness, it will poison us. Like porn, it will corrupt us in ways that we never would have imagined. We need to be careful what we put our eyes on.
Finally, we must BE CAREFUL WHAT WE SAY. Look here at Ephesians 4:29-30. Today, our speech is not limited to what comes out of our mouths, and our keyboards, apps, and cameras have every bit as much power to corrupt. Let’s start by considering communication that is sexually provocative. Over the past couple years, one of the big movements online has been the appearance of “Stories” apps: Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, and their predecessor, Snapchat. The big draw for all of these things is that they allow temporary posts on the Internet. 24 hours go by, and it’s gone, so that that way the dirty picture you sent your boyfriend or the video of your drunken party won’t show up when your grandmother or a prospective employer does an Internet search on you.
I have a couple of thoughts about that. First of all, I have a nasty suspicion that all that stuff won’t stay as private as its users hope. Numbers 32:23 is still true, and sooner or later, our sin will find us out. Even if that’s not true, all the dirty photos and dirty texts are still corrupting. Even if you’re sending them to your spouse, I still worry about privacy concerns, and if you’re sending them to somebody else, you’re trying to tempt them to sin. This is not a good idea!
Speech that is lying, angry, or contentious is equally corrupting. Our society idealizes self-expression, but if our best reason for putting something online is to express ourselves, that’s a sign that we’re not behaving wisely. We’re not thinking about the effect of our words on others. We’re just looking to “tell it like it is”. Friends, that’s about like throwing hand grenades while blindfolded. The results are unpredictable, but they’re likely to be bad. The next time we’re about to click share on that inflammatory meme or pound out an angry status update, let’s reconsider. If we use our online speech instead to persuade, edify, amuse, and enlighten, we’ll all be better off.
