Online Guidelinesimage from www.glendalespringscondos.com

Hey, it's a fact that there are more young people online today that ever before, and you can expect the number to keep growing. The internet can be a useful tool but with so many people online you know that there are also so many evil influences. Since so many of our Christian kids are online these days, I think it is important that we provide them with guidelines for when they're online. I came across this great list in a teen magazine. Now I know you've got to think I'm a little strange at 48 to be reading teen magazines, but I still have two teenagers at home, for whom I am responsible before God, and great group of young people at church who are graciously inviting me to be their friend too! Now here are these guidelines.

1. When your typing online, ask yourself this question, "Would what I'm typing now bring glory and honor to God?

2. If you put your profile online, would someone who doesn't know you think that you are a Christian after reading it?

3. If people are sharing gossip with you, is it because you are gaining a reputation for participating in it?

4. Hey, be really careful when clicking on links on other people's sites, because they may take you to inappropriate websites.

5. Remember, that what you are posting could be copied and posted by other people and used against you in the future, so don't type something you wouldn't be comfortable with having others to read.

6. Don't talk about someone else. They could be sitting next to the friend you are instant messaging.

7. Hold your Christian friends accountable if they use bad language or inappropriate comments or images, by gently challenging them to clean it up.

8. Is your screen name edifying to God? Part of one young lady's name read "Christianbabe." Would that be sending a contradictory message?

9. Remember that email message and instant messages can be misunderstood because your intent and emotions aren't communicated in printed text. Therefore it's better to save serious conversations for face to face encounters.

10. You might remember that there is software that tracks every email, every IM, and records every keystroke and website visited. Even more important, God doesn't need software to track your every keystroke!

Hey, I think these are some great guidelines for online, but let me finish with a couple of references from the Bible. First, our girl's ministry program has a code that they take from Philippians 4:8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.

Then as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, he declared that there is a spiritual battle raging. He said,

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war
as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the
weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine
power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments
and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ.

What we say and do comes from who we are on the inside. So let me encourage you today to let Christ rule and reign in your life 24/7 online and offline. You'll be glad you did.

*Online guidelines adapted from Teen Virtue.