In Facebook news, there is a new feature to the Facebook Messenger app called Secret Conversations. With this new feature you can set your conversations to only appear on the device you started having them on. Also, you can choose to have the conversations disappear after a certain amount of time, much like Snapchat. Facebook claims this feature will help with "sensitive conversations" like those regarding health, or finances. But, to be honest, I think we all know that it will be used for so much more! We've come a long way since the days when, if you wanted to tell someone something who wasn't in your direct vicinity, you had to call an operator who connected you to that person, and stayed on the line during your entire conversation! The further we've gone into the world of digital communication, the more secretive we all become. We've become obsessed with privacy and secrecy. And, while at times there is a need for privacy, I think this deserves a pause as we consider our private lives, and how they line up with the honesty and accountability that the Bible calls for.
#scripturetiein
As the creators of the new Facebook feature have noted, there are times when privacy is necessary. When transferring personal information about our finances to a professional, say, or when we need to discuss the health issues of a loved one. But, if we're being honest with ourselves, we know that people...maybe even we, ourselves...occasionally use digital messaging as a way to indulge in secrecy, in a way that feels disconnected from public society. There are several messaging apps available now that already do what Facebook is adding, here. And it doesn't take a particularly devious mind to realize that people are using these apps, as opposed to the text messaging features that come standard with their devices, to conduct private business, regularly, in a way that no one can trace, or find out about.
I posit that this kind of privacy and secrecy does not line up with the lifestyle of a believer and follower of Christ.
James 5:16 says
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
In Galations 6 we are told to restore a brother who sins in a spirit of gentleness, and bear one another's burdens.
The further we delve into secrecy and privacy, the further away we get from community with our fellow christians. We are called to be open about our lives, our sins, and our burdens, so that we may bring healing to one another, in righteousness! How are we to follow this mandate if we project one form of ourselves to the public, but hide another form in our private digital conversations?
Hebrews 4:13 says "and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
The "him" here is God. No matter how much we encrypt our conversations, God reads them all. He sees them all. And He will ask us each one day to account for them all. The more we live our lives as a witness - out in the open for our faith communities to gain from, and give to, the more we can be sure that we are living according to His will.
#liveitI posit that this kind of privacy and secrecy does not line up with the lifestyle of a believer and follower of Christ.
James 5:16 says
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
In Galations 6 we are told to restore a brother who sins in a spirit of gentleness, and bear one another's burdens.
The further we delve into secrecy and privacy, the further away we get from community with our fellow christians. We are called to be open about our lives, our sins, and our burdens, so that we may bring healing to one another, in righteousness! How are we to follow this mandate if we project one form of ourselves to the public, but hide another form in our private digital conversations?
Hebrews 4:13 says "and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
The "him" here is God. No matter how much we encrypt our conversations, God reads them all. He sees them all. And He will ask us each one day to account for them all. The more we live our lives as a witness - out in the open for our faith communities to gain from, and give to, the more we can be sure that we are living according to His will.
Do you have any of the apps I referenced above? Ask yourself why. What purpose do they serve for you. Consider deleting them.
If you don't already have one, or more, find someone you feel safe with that you can confess to. Sometimes people call this an "accountability partner". We ALL need to be able to share our struggles and burdens with other believers. It is not a sign of weakness, and it should not cause fear.
#prayer
If you don't already have one, or more, find someone you feel safe with that you can confess to. Sometimes people call this an "accountability partner". We ALL need to be able to share our struggles and burdens with other believers. It is not a sign of weakness, and it should not cause fear.
#prayer
Lord, at times I feel this particular point in history is the hardest in which to live out a transparent, on fire, accountable life for You. We are tempted from all angles to keep ourselves to ourselves, and remain hidden from one another, at the soul-level. Lord, I ask that you provide me with a community I can trust, and thank you for those I already have in my life that I can share my joys and struggles with. Lord, remind me continually that while I am tempted to hide my vulnerabilities from even those I'm close with, you see them all. For each of us reading this Lord, I pray that we would flee from the temptation to enter the darkness of secrecy, and run into the light of truth!
Amen
Amen
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