I am trusting and open. I tell everyone everything. My wife is the same way. We are talkers and deep communication draws us together. Indeed, communication is essential to all relationships.
But social media does not play by the normal rules.
On Facebook, I share more victories than defeats. Does my online presence create an image of myself as some perennial winner who never suffers? I don’t think so. More importantly, it does not matter. My friends scrolling social media should have enough understanding of human nature to know that we all have problems, no matter how perfect our “curated content” may appear online. Moreover, there are things both good and bad that should not be shared on social media.
If an interviewer were to ask Jesus his opinion about social media, he might say don’t throw precious things into the pig pen: “Do not cast your pearls before swine” Matthew 7:6.
There is reason to be cagey online.
Jesus warned his disciples to be “shrewd as serpents, but innocent as doves” Matthew 10:16. Criminals have used social media to lie, cheat, and steal from people and places they never could have reached without it. Every day thieves on the other side of the world steal from Americans they will never meet. Yet, as Solomon wrote, there is nothing new under the sun, Ecclesiastes 1:9. Criminals have been using the same techniques for centuries, but have modified them recently to take advantage of the worldwide web. Every online scam today is a re-tread of some con they have been working since time immemorial. To paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobe, the internet is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.[1]
When King Hezekiah was ill, he cried out to God and God gave him 15 more years to live, Isaiah 38:5. When word of the healing spread, the king of Babylon sent his men to King Hezekiah to deliver letters of congratulations and a gift. Hezekiah was so delighted by the gesture that he gave the Babylonian entourage the grand tour, showing them all the treasures of Israel.
“And Hezekiah was glad and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not” Isaiah 39:2.
Then Isaiah the prophet came to Hezekiah and asked him about the visit:
Isaiah: What did you show the Babylonians?
Hezekiah: I showed them everything!
“Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Behold, the days will come when all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have stored up until this day shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, saith the Lord” Isaiah 39:4-6.
This story reminds me of a phishing scam on the internet. The king sends a lovely gift. But it’s actually a chance to spy out the land of Israel. And Hezekiah is so flattered by the gift from Babylon (an on-again, off-again enemy) that he leads the group on a tour of the royal palace, the temple, the secret treasuries, everything. He was proud of his wealth, and this tour group from the east was a chance to indulge himself, show off a little, and let those Babylonians know how wealthy the nation of Israel really was.
King Hezekiah may as well have snapped a few pics of the golden temple and posted them on the Insta, right? This is the same thing. King Hezekiah was too trusting, too open, and he shared too much on social media. And soon the entire treasure would be carried off to Babylon.
You don’t have to share everything!
Don’t cast your pearls before swine!
AΩ
[1] Five tips for security online: First, consider restricting most of your content to friends only. The world is filled with scammers, conmen, liars, and thieves. Why invite them into your world? Second, be careful posting names and photos of children, whether your own or those of others. Never give the public access to first names, addresses, and other information about children. Third, turn locations off; otherwise, hackers can track down your home address by gleaning hidden location data from photos posted online. Fourth, do not post vacation information until you are home from vacation; otherwise, criminals may discover that your home is empty and “ripe for the picking.” Fifth, be cautious posting anything that indicates a sudden windfall: avoid showing off new jewelry, new cars, new boats, new houses. Again, “you must be shrewd as serpents.” If, like me, you have always been too trusting, let me say it again: you must be shrewd as serpents.
Household Words: 