I’ve shared before on this blog about fighting the dangers of pornography and a few helpful books on the topic. Now I’d like to recommend something else that could prove helpful in your pursuit of holiness: the internet accountability program called Covenant Eyes (CE). CE has been around a while and takes their name from Job 31:1.
I’ve used their filter and accountability features for several years now and have had a great experience. I’ll admit I can’t get too deep technically in describing the software and its features, but the Covenant Eyes website is a good resource.
The main reason AGAINST Covenant Eyes for individual users is usually the price: $15.99 a month. That’s not free. But I’m convinced it’s worth adding to the monthly budget if you think it would help you. I’ve used a couple alternatives to Covenant Eyes in the past (NetNanny and X3Watch) and have preferred Covenant Eyes due to the ease of use, breadth of features (including Screen Accountability technology, which sends blurred screenshots to your accountability partner), and CE being a trusted name (David Murray and Andy Naselli, two bloggers I trust, use Covenant Eyes as a part of their accountability relationships).
If you’re looking for a silver bullet solution to a struggle with lust, Covenant Eyes isn’t it. You need to love Jesus so much that you’d hate to sin against Him. But Covenant Eyes can provide helpful support in limiting and removing temptation as well as fostering healthy accountability relationships (my friend Benjamin had a few good thoughts on those). While I wholeheartedly endorse Covenant Eyes for individual users, I can see it being even more useful for a couple of groups: families and ministry teams.
Families
Satan wants to destroy your family and porn is one of his weapons. Covenant Eyes accounts can feature up to ten users, which means one account should cover your family’s devices. This could be helpful for keeping tabs on what your kids are consuming, keeping them away from harmful content, and foster important shepherding conversations. (Parents should be aware that especially tech-savvy kids might be a few steps ahead of parents and find ways around the filter. You will also want to learn how CE functions a bit different on different operating systems. But the CE team has good support in case you need it.)
Ministry teams
Satan wants to destroy your ministry and porn is one of his weapons. I shudder to think of how many pastors have their ministries hamstrung (or entirely destroyed) due to a porn addiction. I would imagine most churches and ministry teams want greater accountability and vulnerability among their staff, but many don’t know where to start. It’s awkward to talk about. Sometimes there’s even a generational divide that makes it tricky. If this is your situation, you might prayerfully consider having Covenant Eyes on all staff devices to be more involved in each other’s lives and sharpening each other. The email reports (regardless of any questionable content to talk over) could trigger a text message asking questions like “How is your walk with Christ?” “What have you struggled with this week?” or “How can I pray for you?” If this intrigues you but you have questions, talk to a Covenant Eyes consultant who specializes in churches.
If you’re considering getting Covenant Eyes, now’s a great time to try it: they are even offering a 30-day guarantee if you’re not satisfied. Sign up for Covenant Eyes here.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase through a link, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. But don’t worry: my policy is to only share links for things I wholeheartedly recommend. Glad I got that out of the way.
