THE INTERNET: GOOD OR EVIL?
by Bryan Gibson
Many people now own personal computers and through these computers have access to the Internet, and to a part of the Internet known as the World Wide Web. What we want to do in this article is first look at some of the dangers posed by the Internet, and then look at some of the positive uses of it.
v Pornography.
Unfortunately, many web sites feature nudity, fornication, homosexuality, etc. Obviously, these sites must be completely avoided (see Matt. 5:27-28; Heb. 13:4; Eph. 5:11-12).
v Improper companionships.
“Chat rooms” have become an increasingly popular feature of the Internet. These chat rooms allow you to “talk” with people from really every part of the world. Obviously, this can be a good thing, but in some cases, it fosters some dangerous relationships. There have actually been some cases where someone left their spouse and children for someone they met in a “chat room.” Many people use these “chat rooms” to talk dirty with some complete strangers. Remember the statement made in 1 Corinthians 15:33: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
v Wasted time.
There is a great temptation to spend far too much time “surfing the net.” The World Wide Web has put a tremendous amount of information right at our fingertips, and while that can be good, it can also become an obsession with us. Remember the admonition given in Eph. 5:15-16: “…walk carefully…redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” It’s awful hard to be “ready for every good work” (Titus 3:1) when so much of our time is spent on the Internet.
v Bible Study
The Internet has a wealth of information that can aid us in our study of the Bible. You can find sermons, Bible class material, articles, etc., many by our own brethren. These can be very helpful, as long as we remember to “search the Scriptures to make sure these things are so” (Acts 17:11).
v Teaching the Lost
While nothing can replace personal contact in teaching the lost, it is nice to know that you can put something on the World Wide Web and it can read by people all over the world. We have our own web site here at Prattmont (hometown.aol.com/prattmont), featuring articles, sermons, and class material. Check it out if you haven’t done so already. It gives us one way to “go into all the world” to teach the gospel.
v Encouraging and edifying others.
Another very popular feature of the Internet is e-mail. You can type a letter to someone in the same town, or in some distant location, and they can read that letter on their computer in just a few minutes. What e-mail does is give us another way to encourage, comfort, and edify others. If you have e-mail, why not try to send a note of encouragement to someone every day. It may be to someone in this congregation, to one of the evangelists that we support, or to some other evangelist in a foreign country (I’ll be glad to provide you with some e-mail addresses).
The Internet has great potential for good and for evil. Let’s make sure we make the right choices.