 Publicity
We are a society of exabitionists. What I mean is that we are people who are consistently putting our lives on display. We see this in the proliferation of “reality” TV shows that give us a glimpse into the lives of other people. This is also on display in the many social media platforms that allow anyone to publish their thoughts, views, and criticisms to the world. Even this blog post is somewhat an example of what I am referring to. Even the way people dress is a product of our exhibitionist culture. However, today’s post is not about modesty but rather the craving in our hearts around this kind of showmanship. I am not arguing that posting updates about your life and interacting with people through these public means is bad. But I do want to point out that some people get offended when they get exactly what they are requesting. It is somewhat ironic that while we are the most self promotional and connected people who have ever lived, we also desire to define the limits of our privacy. Privacy Privacy is an interesting concept because it is made necessary because we are communal beings. God made us to need one another. After all, it was not good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:18). God has also constructed His covenant relationships with us corporately, not just individually. Even in dealing with Abraham God was building and promising a people (Genesis 15:5-6). Since we are created to be social and to be in relationships, this means that boundaries for those relationships are also necessary. In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul reminds them that we live in symbiotic relationships with everyone else and in a completely dependent relationship with the Lord. Our need for privacy is a result of our fallen condition. Remember in the garden Adam and Eve were both naked and unashamed (Genesis 2:25). I think that we often read this as being because they were husband and wife, but the introduction of clothing did not come when other human beings were introduced to the equation but when sin came in and required a temporary covering (Genesis 3:21). Before the fall, mankind had nothing to hide either from one another or from God but after the fall, shame and guilt required a level of privacy. This ought to also cause us to consider the freedom that we have been given in Christ. Within the body of Christ we are free to confess our sin because Christ is faithful and just, He forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). This means that we need not hide our sin in shame and guilt, but rather expose it to the cleansing and purifying Light of the glory of God. So as we believers look forward to our eternal home, we will not be back in the nakedness of pre fall innocence nor will we be shrouded in the filthy garments of our wickedness and sin (Isaiah 64:6), but we will be clothed in the glorious righteousness of Christ (Revelation 22:14). When we reach that city and our faith has truly become sight and there is no more sin and no more need for the protections that privacy affords us, we will all be able to rest sweetly in the glorious freedom of the kingdom where only righteousness dwells both in us and in all of our brothers and sisters, who are our fellow citizens of this fair and happy land.
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