Privacy-Good or Bad

Privacy is an interesting concept to ponder.  It is really about how much we let other people or entities into our lives.  What we let other people know about us plays a big part in that issue.  In this day and age, with the development of the internet, privacy feels like a thing of he past, but is that good or bad?  Why is it that we don't just expose everything about ourselves?  My theory is that it comes down to insecurity, that people don't believe that other people would accept them if people knew everything about them.  Basically everyone recognizes their own sinfulness, at least subconsciously, and is ashamed of it.

While I believe that sin should be neither ignored nor flaunted, the shame that leads to hiding it doesn't help to remove the problem, it just buries it, where it is harder to deal with.  And I have no doubt that God wants us to “deal with” sin, and approach the problem head on when ever possible.  No one is perfect, and the sooner we all accept that fact, as it applies both to ourselves and to those around us, the better off we all will be.  Think about what affect both parts of that realization would have on the concept of forgiveness.  But unless that happens, everyone goes on hiding things from everyone else.

The traditional American view on privacy is: "It's a free country, so I can do whatever I want, and it is none of your business."  I tend to agree, as it pertains to the government, or other organizations, but what about other individuals?  Taking that approach with everyone we know is not going to foster intimate relationships with others in our community.

God can perceive everything we think and do, so we have absolutely zero privacy from him.  Anyone who doesn't recognize that is deceived.  But what effect does that reality have on our approach to life?  It is my observation that those who are under the illusion that they can keep secrets have a tendency to make bad decisions.

There is a Biblical basis for being open with others about your own mistakes and shortcomings.  "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." (James 5:16)  While the Catholic Church has taken this in a direction that is hard to support, I do believe that there is value to confessing our sins to one another.  If done the right way, it can foster accountability and promote trust.  I am a firm believer in the idea that we can not overcome sin on out own, but only through the grace of God, and experience has taught me that this frequently comes in the form of support from those around us.

But it can be extremely difficult and painful to confess our sins to others.  It requires trust, and nearly always entails a huge level of risk.  By revealing our own shortcomings, we risk experiencing rejection instead of support to change.  Unfortunately in the church’s rightful crusade against sin, sinners are wounded in the conflict that is supposed to be liberating them.  Now I myself have never been wounded by “the church” in that way, but for good reason.  I have never trusted “the church” with the issues I was struggling with.  I have only shared with particular individuals in my life, after spending years building up a significant level of trust.  I believe in the benefits of being open with others, but that can be very difficult to do.  My writings on here are small steps in that general direction.