A Private Journey
By Byron Washington, Columnist
Few things are private. People post and share everything happening in their lives on social media. If the person is a social media personality, then it makes sense, or if a person’s business depends on social media, then being extremely visible is logical. We have become obsessed with showing the world all aspects of our lives.
In the age of technology where every church is live streaming, moments that used to be personal are now broadcast around the internet. We live in a time when a person’s worship can become a meme, or a praise of thanksgiving goes viral for the wrong reasons. Brothers and sisters, some parts of our journey should be private.
When we look at the life of Jesus at the end of Luke Chapter 2, we find a young Jesus sitting in the temple talking with religious teachers (Luke 2:46-51). Those in the temple were astonished by what they heard and saw in reference to Jesus. The next time we see Jesus is in Luke 3, when he is baptized by John and starts his public ministry, and the Bible tells us he was about 30 years old (Luke 3:21-23). There is a gap in time letting us know that there should be seasons when people do not see all that we are doing, there should be moments when we turn off social media and do not post for a while, and our life should not be on display 24/7.
Consider why having a level of privacy in your life is crucial. First, when people have too much access, they will eventually start to disrespect or devalue you. Full transparency should only be available to a few select people.
Secondly, it opens the door for criticism and unnecessary commentary about your life. Think about how many posts you have seen on social media when a person shares something personal or private, and everyone in the comments has something to say, both positive and negative. It is not constructive and does not benefit the person.
Finally, and this is more of a reflective question, why? What is the point or need to tell everyone everything at that moment? Some of God’s best work in our life is done when we are focused on Him and not looking to gain the approval of the world around us.
Friends, do yourself a favor; stop sharing and posting everything that is happening in your life. As we are in the last part of 2022, I suggest that you and I remember that some parts of this journey are personal and should be kept private.
