I am sure that we will all agree that a lot of good comes from the World Wide Web.  Friendships are formed between people who are miles and miles away.   The internet is able to connect us to people in places of the country that we’d otherwise never be able to visit, yet now we are able to communicate with these wonderful people any time of the day or night.  They are right there within our reach every time we turn on our computer, smartphones, or tablets.   I have met so many wonderful people online, and we have remained friends for going on 20 years now.  Seriously!   I have friends in Arizona, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Canada, Alaska, New Zealand, and Australia just to name a few places a little further on the map than I.   These friendships have brought me so much joy and happiness through the years, and I treasure and cherish each person that has taken the time to get to know me and my family.

The internet has a wealth of information available as well.  If you have a research paper due or need to know this or that, the internet brings all of the information to you with just a few clicks.

There is even counseling available online.  If you’d rather not speak to someone in person or feel you need assistance right away, someone is there waiting to respond once you reach out.  While I haven’t personally explored this avenue, with my time at (in)courage, I have been made aware of services offered through E-counseling.

When used the right way, the internet is a wonderful tool to bring delightful messages right to your inbox every single day.   What an amazing feeling it is to open your email in the morning to find messages awaiting.  Do you smile as wide as I do when you hear from your family and friends?   I actually get disappointed if there isn’t a personal email waiting for me.  I enjoy forwarded jokes, cartoons, and inspirational messages, but nothing beats a personal email packed full of details of the other person’s life!  Just knowing that they took the time to share all of this with me … it just warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.  I love when people share with me, and it makes me feel so much closer to them!

Unfortunately, there are bad things that come from the internet as well.  With a few clicks of the mouse, even the youngest child can stumble upon pornographic material.  It doesn’t even have to be by visiting an x-rated website either.  They can just innocently enter in a word in the search engine and have a bunch of garbage come up.   This material is lurking in corners of the internet that we would never even dream about (I was just told that it’s on YouTube as well – oh my gosh!), and it’s so readily available (I still haven’t recovered from the shock yet!).   This type of thing has wreaked havoc in people’s lives.   There are people that search for this type of material for their viewing pleasure.  They become addicted and obsessed with it, and it ruins marriages!   The habit is hidden from their spouses, but once they stumble upon it in the history or various other ways that the secretive online activity is discovered, hurt and betrayal is sure to be felt by the wounded spouse as more lies and deceit are uncovered.

The internet is a valuable tool, and a lot of good things can come from the internet or the world wide web. However, be careful little eyes what you see. Evil lurks in corners of the internet as well.   Don’t fall for the trap of the world wide web!  Once it lures you in, it’s hard to get untangled from the sticky little web of lies, deceit, and betrayal!

Another of the bad things lurking on the internet are people who are not what they claim to be or who misrepresent themselves.   There are sick people on the internet that prey on young people.  I have had to speak to my oldest daughter in previous years about this very thing.  She was so young and innocent that she just could not grasp the dangers of the internet.  She wants to see the good in people at all times and can’t imagine any one ever doing anything bad.   She has a heart of pure gold, and she cares for people.   I have been so afraid of her “meeting” people that would draw her in and then later she’d learn that they weren’t who they said they were after all.   I can’t caution her enough on this even still at her age now.

There are other dangers such as getting close to emotional vampires who you honestly try to save with all of your might only to find that you did not possess that kind of power.  Sure, this type of thing often happens in real life with people face-to-face, but it can and does happen via the internet as people reach out to talk to others that they don’t have to see every single day of their lives.  They feel a special connection and special bond so much that they pour their hearts and souls out over emails and chats.   Beautiful friendships have been formed through things such as this, but really bad situations have resulted as well.  Take a suicidal person that is clinging to you with all of their might, yet you’re not trained in this area to help them.  They won’t talk to anyone else, and you are their life line at that moment in time.  You do everything you can, and yet you aren’t sure if they are safe or if they will try to harm themselves when you are forced to turn off the computer after spending hours trying to reason with them.   Or, what about the cutter that is not really trying to kill themselves, but they just hurt so badly that they harm themselves in this way to release some of the emotional pain they are feeling?   How do you know the difference?   You worry, fret, pray, and cry over all of this, and then eventually even the most positive and upbeat person can end up being grabbed a hold of and pulled down with them much like the drowning person that you’re trying so desperately to save.  You swim with all of your might holding on to them as tightly as you can, yet with them in a panic with their arms around your neck, they push you further down until both of you end up hitting bottom.

Affairs get started online.   The emotional connection I spoke of earlier, well, that can be a great thing … or it can be a curse.   If you start thinking the grass is greener on the other side with a person that you are so connected with, someone who you may feel more connected to even more so than your spouse … you’re in trouble!

There are dating sites which are supposed to be used for singles to find someone to go out with.   However, how many married men and women lurk on those sites looking for an extra marital affair?   The same can be said for Facebook and other social media sites, though, if you are using them in the wrong way.  I’ve heard of people getting on there and reconnecting with their past loves from their high school or college days.

How about the bullying that goes on from people hiding behind the computer screen?  They feel braver typing words on a screen, and they blast people left and right.   However, cyber bullying is very real and very much punishable!   Use Facebook and other social media channels responsibly!

The point in this post is to enjoy the internet but please be so very careful with your usage so as to avoid the trap of the world wide web!    If you’re using it for good things such as connecting with like minded women with sites such as (in)courage, Good Morning Girls, Women Living Well, or Time Warped Wife, that is wonderful!   If you’re using it to visit blogs such as this which offer inspiration and encouragement, that is incredible, and we hope you’ll visit often!   If you’re looking up bible verses and all things good and honorable, more power to you!   Just be careful not to fall into the trap of the world wide web in viewing pornographic material, engaging in cyber sex, entertaining affairs of any kind, bullying others or any other negative and damaging thing that could come from the internet.  Use it for GOOD, as it was intended.

You may think that no one will ever know what you look up when you’re wasting time online.  Ah, that’s where you’re wrong.  Someone does know other than you … and that person is GOD!  He sees all, and He knows your every thought … even the not so pretty ones that you’d love to hide from Him.  It’s just not possible, for He knows every little thing, your sins that you think are hidden, your lustful thoughts, the things you think you’re doing in private where no one will know … He’s there … He’s a witness to all of your activities – good or bad – honorable or sinful – respectful or lacking in morals and values.

Just as you’ve heard people say to find the good in each day, find the good on the internet!  Focus on all of the good things that you can find online, and stay away from the bad!   Don’t get caught in the trap of the world wide web!