I am not one to listen to the news, it’s depressing, it does nothing but create anxiety and add nothing valuable to your soul. Christ warned us that in this world we will have tribulation. God saw that the heart of man was growing more and more evil once the fall happened. It is one of the saddest discourses in Scripture. In Genesis 6:5-7, God expresses His feelings about what He sees happening to mankind. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the [f]sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”  Every time I read these verses it makes my heart sad, but it also challenges me to examine myself regularly. Was darkness entered the earth, its destruction spread so rapidly that God had to wipe out everything He created, except for Noah and his family, and the animals God told him to take in the Ark with him.

Today, we still see darkness and the evil that it spreads through those who do not master it, but instead live it out like a sport. In our technologically advanced world, the players of darkness have more powerful means of taking souls captive. One of those means is through the use of smart devices. Our young people are bombarded with apps that will give them unlimited access to darkness. Parents have suffered the loss of their children because of cyberbullying online suicide chats, and sexual exploitation, and it only appears to be getting worse. Our Congress, state school boards, parent advocacy groups, online social media companies, and others are all scrambling to find ways to put a stop to the monster that has been created through the use of smartphones.

Can anything stop this cancerous spread of technology through the use of smartphones? Some school systems no longer allow teens to bring their phones into the classroom. Companies have created child guard technology to give parents control of the time their children spend on the Internet. I do not oppose young people having cell phones. I believe that it is a good resource to have in an emergency. There is a way, a very simple way, to cut the legs off this monster that has gone out of control. Disconnect under age children from having access to the Internet. It is not mandatory to have Internet access on a cell phone. When Internet service is installed on a cell phone, it becomes a smartphone. Parents of young children have the ability to stop the madness caused by children having access to the Internet. Removing Internet access can also help young people rediscover social skills like being able to hold a conversation with another person. It can also be a great way to have families reconnect with their teens and tweens.

The apps that most young people use today, allows for their conversations to be hidden or deleted without the parent ever knowing. There have been Amber Alerts of young girls running away with men they have connected with over the Internet. This would not happen if there was no access to the Internet in the first place. While Congress and Big Tech or wasting countless hours holding congressional hearings, they should instead require age limitations for cell phones to have Internet access. In Proverbs chapter one, children are instructed about how they should choose their friends and conduct their lives. Now those who lurk about trying to lead teens astray are not just in peer groups at school, they are in chat rooms, throughout the Internet, waiting for unsuspecting young people, just as it says in Proverbs 1:10-16, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.  If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause;  Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit; We will find all kinds of precious wealth, we will fill our houses with spoil;  Throw in your lot with us, we shall all have one purse,” my son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, for their feet run to evil and they hasten to shed blood.”

Parents are not helpless and the outlook does not have to be hopeless. They have the power and authority to save their children from the darkness that lurks on the Internet. Disconnects it! Be Blessed!