The Overflow

And it did so instantly and in real time? Woah.

Can you imagine status updates like this?

• ___________ just stole money from the cash register at work.
• ___________ is drunk, and cussing out his neighbor.
• ___________ is viewing pornography and ___________.
• ___________ is attempting to sleep with a guy she met at a club.
• ___________ is pridefully thinking he’s better than everyone else while he reads Facebook status updates.

Were it this way, would you be more addicted to Facebook than you already are?

Shame on you! (but I might be too).

I don’t know why this thought about sin showing up in status messages struck me, but it did and I caught myself thinking, “Man, I’d be a lot more careful!”

Now I have to ask the question … why?

Psalm 139, Matthew 6, many Proverbs and other Scriptures remind us that God sees everything, and He’s the only one that ultimately matters.

So your sins show up as your Facebook status updates in real time. Everyone sees. What difference should that make?

If you’re a disciple of Jesus … none, but you know it would.

Being aware that others really know what’s going on in our lives causes us to be vulnerable in a way we’re not with God. Perhaps we take His omnipresence for granted. Perhaps we’ve written off the old saying, “God sees all,” as a mindless cliché. Perhaps we don’t really believe He notices everything we do.

Regardless of the reason, there’s something about knowing another person is aware of our sin that causes most people to want to get over it and stay over it.

Years ago I struggled with an addiction to pornography. I knew God saw me and what I was doing and I knew I was dishonoring Him by my actions. I tried numerous times to get over this sin on my own, but I couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t until I got others involved that I broke the habit. I confessed my struggle to a few of the guys at church, and told my newlywed wife what was going on. Then I took it a step further.

I bought a calendar, hung it on the wall in a room of our house, and told my wife that each day I stayed pure in that area I would mark an ‘X’ on the calendar for that day. I knew that every day my wife would see that calendar, and I decided I was not going to disappoint her.

That added layer of accountability helped me heal from that sin. With God’s help and the help of others I’d confessed my struggle to, I healed from an addiction to pornography.

While most of you would find Facebook reporting your sins involuntarily to be horrible, have you ever thought about sharing your struggles with someone else … voluntarily?

It could be that’s the missing ingredient in the recipe to help you truly get over it:

James 5:16

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Confession and the prayer of others = healing.

I found this healing the Bible speaks of … and I didn’t even need Facebook to confess my sins for me.

Subscribe to future posts.