Privacy

It is not good for the man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).

Why are we Americans so fixated on privacy? We won’t let phone directories publish our numbers. Hospital staff are prevented from sharing any information about a patient’s health with visitors.

I realize the importance of protecting financial information so that criminals cannot misuse it. I understand wanting to avoid the annoying calls of telemarketers. But look at the problems caused by having an unlisted phone number—old friends may have no way of finding you after years of separation. And how can a doctor or hospital reach you in an emergency if they are treating a loved one who is unconscious?

All of us are interconnected with others—our family members, the people we work with, the members of our church. We support them and they depend on us. You have a responsibility to the other people on your bowling team. You have a responsibility to your booster club. Life is a network of connections between people who depend on each other.

Excessive privacy can break down these lines of mutual support. If no one knows that you are sick, how can they pray for you or visit you in the hospital? If you can’t be contacted by phone, how will your friends let you know that a game has been rescheduled? Even worse, there are times when we want to hide from our responsibilities, and privacy makes such hiding possible. How many people avoid unwanted calls by getting a cell phone and not giving out their number?

Thankfully, God does not hide Himself from us. He knows that we depend on Him constantly, whether we realize it or not. And so He is always attentive to our needs—Jesus said, My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working (John 5:17). God makes Himself available to us 24/7. We can pray to Him any time, any where; we can receive His Words of promise, reassurance, and hope whenever we open a copy of His Bible.

Don’t let a desire for privacy isolate you from others. Remember that God said, it is not good for the man to be alone.