“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

“Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:13)

The temptation to resist online pornography is next to impossible without an effective method of accountability for online behaviour. The Bible exhorts us to “flee temptation” and to “make straight paths for our feet.” What does this look like?

Anyone with a history of pornography will not win the battle of sexual temptation alone. There must be a total reliance on the Holy Spirit. (See “Overcoming sexual temptation” - an article about overcoming pornography addiction by the power of the infilling of the Holy Spirit)

There are also some practical keys that must be adhered to in order to protect areas of a person's life that have become broken. When a leg is broken a doctor aligns the bones as best he can and then puts the whole leg in a plaster cast so that it can heal properly. If the leg was allowed to move freely then the bones would be put out of joint again and the healing would not take place. In the same way, when there is an area of weakness in a persons life, that weakness must be bound up in some way to protect it from further harm until the person becomes whole and strong again in that area.

For a person who has a weakness in the area of sexual temptation, his walk as a believer has been crippled. This “broken leg” must be bound up in plaster – some restrictions need to be placed around his life – until his ability to walk straight has been healed. And he needs to make “straight paths for his feet, so that what is lame does not become dislocated again.”

What does this look like in practical terms?

It effectively means any person struggling to stay pure must make sure he or she has someone to hold them accountable for their online behaviour. Being one click away from pornography is not “fleeing temptation” or “avoiding the appearance of all evil.” It is running into the lions mouth with no form of defense.

Covenant Eyes provides the basic service of internet filtering for preventing exposure to online pornography, but more importantly it provides additional support for the person who needs to be held accountable for their online behaviour. Once the Covenant Eyes software is installed on a computer and an accountability partner selected, every visit to a website is recorded and monitored by the partner. Different levels of accountability may be selected so the type of content viewed is appropriate for differing age levels.

How does Internet Accountability work?

Covenant Eyes software monitors a person’s internet use and emails a report of all websites visited to the accountability partner. An accountability partner could be a parent, a friend, a pastor, and family member, or anyone you trust. The accountability report shows searches, links, times of day when the internet is being used.

Benefits • Blocks offensive and objectionable websites. • Protection for families, office staff, and schools. • Free customer service and free software upgrades. • Time controls: Determine when and how long the Internet can be used. • Select different levels of blocking based upon age. • Create safe lists or black lists - websites that will always be allowed or blocked. • Selectively block Instant Messaging (IM), Internet Chat, and more. • Accountability service (monitoring) and receive reports on Internet use.

Related Article

Overcoming sexual temptation