“In conversation be sincere, Thy conscience as the noonday clear;
Think how the all see all-seeing God thy ways and all thy secret thoughts surveys.”
That’s from “Awake, My Soul and with the Sun.” I quote it because today’s news includes, again, Hillary Clinton and her State Department emails. She kept all her official emails on a private server and today there’s news about how State handled FOIA requests. The Freedom of Information Act gives the public access to some, not all, internal communication and information. I’m not writing here about Mrs. Clinton, have your own opinion, but about those times when people want to get behind our public face. A pastor, for instance, serves the congregation but should not share everything he knows.
God has never filed a FOIA with the State Department nor has He sent you a FOIA. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:1). A true Christian is different than other people, “comfortable in your own skin,” as they say, when people push you to tell more. What you’re holding close will come out in God’s time. “Nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light” (Mark 4:22). No shame in sharing information that reveals you made a blunder. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). A true Christian has nothing to lose because you’ve given up your life. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself” (Luke 9:23). “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). And if you’re pushed to share what truly shouldn’t be shared, “entrust (your) souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19). A living faith in God does make a difference! “Of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
“Direct, control, suggest this day all I design or do or say
That all my pow’rs with all their might in Thy sole glory may unite.”
(Lutheran Service Book, 868, 1, 5)
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