The following post is by Joe Bilotti. Joe was recently awarded a $1200 Covenant Eyes Scholarship.
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My first knowledge of Covenant Eyes came from listening to a sermon by Matt Chandler, when he discussed the importance of having personal accountability in his life. He mentioned that he had Covenant Eyes so he could be held accountable. I decided that personal accountability was a key component that I needed with my Internet usage, so a month or two after learning about Covenant Eyes, I made it a personal part of my life. My Dad and I became accountability partners, which has helped set a guard for each of us on the Internet because we know that we can each view the other person’s Web activity at any time. It has helped us to share the bond of accountability in keeping each other pure in what we view on the Internet.
Even if feeding selfish lusts on the Internet is not a major struggle for a guy, he should not think he is perfect. First Corinthians 10:12 explains this fact clearly enough: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” That is why any person who struggles with overcoming lust, and particularly Internet pornography, can be encouraged through the help Covenant Eyes provides. Ecclesiastes 4:12 shows how accountability is Biblical: “And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
As in any part of our lives, sin looks enticing, and we think that God is cheating us or keeping us from enjoying ourselves. Yet this is a lie from the Enemy, and we must remember the fact that God has called us to live in such a great freedom as “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). Covenant Eyes is not a restrictive tool, but it is a guard to help people keep the freedom of pure eyes, and ultimately a pure heart. Of course this cannot happen unless we first have Christ as the Sovereign Lord of our lives. Through His power working in us, it should call us to desire Him more than the false promises (particularly lust) this world offers. We must want to prevent sin in every area of our lives, and Covenant Eyes is a great tool to help us pursue Him over lesser things by guarding our hearts (Proverbs 4:23).
Covenant Eyes helps in this pursuit of purity through a number of applications. One great tool is the weekly reports that are sent to partners. The detailed log report is a fantastic part of the reports that allows someone to see every web page visited by the user. This is the first line of defense in the fight for purity and the main accountability tool related to Covenant Eyes. It is a helpful guard knowing that a report is sent each week or knowing that my partner (my Dad in my case) can generate a report at any time from his computer. My Dad and I know that our battle for purity is not being fought alone, but that my he and I can each help “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).
This feature is not be personally used as much in my situation, but for a parent wanting to monitor his or her child and their Internet activity, the sensitivity levels are a great tool. Since they allow different sensitivity levels, a parent can set what they think is an appropriate level that their child can view. It is also good for adults to set teen or youth filter settings if they know that it is a struggle for them. The flexibility to create filter settings that work for each individual is a very good part of Covenant Eyes.
Covenant Eyes is a needed and well appreciated tool that has been used to glorify God. I am thankful for its impact in my life and in the lives of many others around the world.
I do hope you’ll let my post remain on your website. People – particularly children and teenagers – need to be forwarned about the dire CONSEQUENCES of being stupid online!! No joke! The thought of what KIDS end up “going through” as REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS is too awful to even THINK about! Best protection on the web: COVENANT EYES! Your program is not only for christians per-se,but is for ANYYBODY who wants to protect their friends and loved ones from ALL of the dangers of the internet! What people seem to fail to realise, is that when a person goes online, they are going out into the “big bad world” in a way that makes them particularly vulnerable to countless sinister forces… and they also seem to not understand that people across the NATION are sitting there at their computer-screens “watching” them as they go along!!! As Shaggy on Scooby-Doo would say,, “ZOINKS!!!” This situation is not funny and definitely NOT harmless! Kind of like the occult.. you have absolutely NO way of knowing who or even WHAT your’e coming in contact with! It may be a good earthbound spirit, the spirit of a deranged serial killer, or worst-case-scenario-, it could be the spirit of an actual demon from the pits of hell! But the internet also has “good” people on it. It’s just that “you never know.” One person said of the ouija board that using one is just like blindly opening your doors to strangers in a very bad neighborhood! Not smart! God knows this! That’s why he REALLY doesn’t want us to do that! If you end up contacting a good spirit, it’s just that, that time, you got “lucky!” Next time you open up that portal, you may not BE so lucky! And since God doesn’t offer his protection to those who “break the rules”, you’re ON YOUR OWN in a very BAD way!!! And THINK about it… good spirits have better things to do than answer silly questions asked by Cindy-Lou!!! The good ghosts are busy going aound assisting angels as they do important work for God on Earth! They might SCARE SOME SILLY BOY OR GIRL STRAIGHT upon their pulling out a ouija board! … But other than that, I don’t think a good spirit would even waste their time on such foolishness. And that begs the question: What kind of spirits ARE those who sit around just “waiting” for someone to open up a foolish door that they can come through?!? Robbers, bandits, the ghosts of killers,.. actual DEMONS, too!? Again, NOT SMART! God forbids such practices for THAT VERY REASON! Only a POWERFUL BEING should ever attempt such things… and ONLY with GOD’S permission and protection! YET THEY ACTUALLY “SELL” OUIJA BOARDS AT #0%%%%0# TOYS ‘R U*S!!!! Well, in a way, computers are very much like ouija boards…. You are going out into a domain that only “looks” visible! I don’t know if God considers going online “divinition” or not. But just like the spirit world, the internet is chalk full of the good, the so-so, the bad, the ugly, and the TERRIFYING! It’s a world where even some of the GOOD guys are bad!!The bad thing is that you just DO NOT KNOW who ( or even WHAT ) it is that you’re coming i “contact” with!! That’s a very dangerous world, INDEED! There’s no “COVENANT-EYES” type protection for ouija board usesrs… but there “IS” COVENANT EYES for internet users! And in many unsettling ways, the internet is much like the spirit world… you don’t go doing foolish things there! The thought of a CHILD having his or her entire FUTURE taken away BY THE LAW due to online stupidity is just too awful to think about. I do believe that messing around with the spirit world can have similar consequences… a lifetime of INSANITY, I suppose. Anyway, I’m “ramblin’ on” again. I’ll just conclude my LAST AND FINAL POST by saying that the internet is ALSO one very dark and scary place… a place where freedom can still be found ( well, for right now, anyway ) and freedom can swiftly be taken away with a resulting “clink” of a hand-cuff! The internet is also a place where kids CAN meet predators! But they don’t seem to “realise” that they actually ARE talking to a “real life person!” One who may NOT be who or what he’s “pretending” to be! Much like the spirits he’d make contact with using tarot cards or a ouija board! And, believe me, the results can be just as “devastating!” The internet is NO JOKE and is no place for kids to play! If kids are to go online ( this goes for foolish adults, too! ) they should be “supervised ( –at least “moderately” ) both predators AND rogue prosecutors are out there ” FISHING” for dumb kids and fools— like the one ” I ” used to be, and they’ll show little to no “mercy” on those they ensare! COVENANT EYES is very good protection against such things… It isn’t PERFECT, but it’s the best there is. With that said, I’ll conclude my final post by saying … keep up the good work…. God bless… “peace-out!!
I know I do tend to chatter too much. so i’ll make this quick. The services you provide of people are priceless. For better of for worse, I thank you for leting me use your blog. i guess i’m a tad “skittish” about giving out my name, so i just wrote M JM in the “name” box. I hope that’s O.K. thank you so much… goodnight.
Thanks for your thoughts, MjM.
And again, if not for Covenant eyes, there would likely be no defence against this new witch-hunt. At least it’s good to know that people ARE watching out for one another. It seems that reviewers are so critical of the things i have to say. But if I don’t say them and ask the really important questions, in this environment of prejudice and fear, who will!? The legal consequences of online sexual misconduct are terrible beyond belief. Yet no one ever dares to TALK about it for fear of being “stigmata’d! Then it happens: One of your 13 year old nieces ends up in adult prison for child pornography!! She stupidly sent a bad picture of herself to a friend… and some crusading cyber-cop “intercepted” the picture!!! HER LIFE IS “OVER” BEYOND BELEIF!!! God only knows what’s going to happen to her now. She’ll probably be told to “plea-bargain!” That’s what people who aren’t “rich” end up having to do. But no one is ever warned of the legal reprecussions pertaining to online foolishness, particularly when it comes to sex and pornography. It’s as if a secret “TRAP” has been set, and no one is to know where it’s hidden! Welcome to the 21st century law enforcement of antichrist! Like Don Henley says in his song: “muster up your best defense, this is the end of our “innocense.” Best “online” defense: COVENANT EYES! That’s all. God bless you.
I CAN’T STAND IT!! Why isn’t ANYbody ever told about the LEGAL reprecussions of internet porn!?! Question: How does one know for absolute CERTAIN that the girl they’re watching online really is 18!?!? The law DOESN’T CARE!!! I CAN’T STAND how in “sex ed,” our nation’s children are taught how to use birth control and condoms,.. how they are taught everything there is to know about STDs and unwanted pregnancies, yet they are told absolutely NOTHING about the LEGAL consequences pertaining to underage sex!! The mainstream media’s silence on that issue is downright “fiendish!!” They want to (seemingly) Nip e’m in the bud, regardless of how “young” they might be!!! The resulting witch-hunt has been downright BREATH-TAKING!! Even NAZI holocaust survivors are alarmed! Yet those who have been “wronged” by our so-called sex offender laws can’t even get their horrowning stories told on short wave radio!! ( If it even “exists” anymore )!! Internet porn addiction can do a whole LOT more to you than Just kill your relationships and make you sick mentally and spiritually!! The sex offender registries of today make John’s “Isle of Patmos” look like HAWAII in comparison!!!! No joke!… Don’t believe me? Go online and research “sex offender injustices” for yourself! Believe me,.. you’ll be so GLAD you never had to spend even one DAY on that infernal list!!! The prejudice, bigotry, discrimination ,and stigma “registrants” experience is absolutely “un-real!!” Yet no one is ever warned about that… AT ALL!!! EVER!!! Yet no one ever DARES to bring this highly “taboo” subject up! Everybody’s too terrified of being caught-up in the witch-hunt! Sadly, this only ensures a continuing flow of new “registrants!! Satan must be so “proud!” Parents don’t even “know” to warn their KIDS about the double-edged nature of the increasingly arcane sex- offender laws!! It is assumed that those “laws” are only for “Chester the Molester” and “Willie the Rat!!! And oh how the media mindcontrol machine MAKES SURE that that’s exactly what everybody thinks!! ICAN”T STAND IT! How does “Covenant Eyes” help with this situation? Well, it enables people to PROTECT one another so that they don’t end up in ANY kind of trouble, legal or otherwise. Through your program, people are given the tools they need so they can “watch-out” for each other. The truth is this: Any one of us could have ended up on that dreaded “offender-list.” Even NAZI holocaust survivors are alarmed at this new type of law enforcement. Yet their voices are walled off and shut-out by the media, as well! Once on that “offender-list” you are the “crimen exceptum” which means that your constitutional rights have gone out the window, and you are no longer protected by any type of due process of law!!! You are now just like the DIRTY JEWS of Hitler’s Germany, and believe me, you’ll be treated just like a tried and true scumbag!! This is definitely NOT the environment for untrustworthy internet filters!! One wrong click of the mouse is all it takes to have the cops at your door! Then your life is OVER, and man I MEAN it!!! Programs like Covenant Eyes may be the only defense against this new insane crusade. Me, I am probably pretty lucky I’m not on the “dreaded-list” myself. Actually, I think God had something to do with it . when I was younger, i had no “common sense” at all. The sex offender registries are chalk FULL of fools like the one “I” used to be. If you ever end up on “THE LIST” , you’ll spend the rest of your days desparately searching for reasons to not commit suicide! I wouldn’t wish that on my own worst enemy.