Internet honesty

So I was at the Hydrant a few nights ago and I met a guy who works there who is a pretty cool believer.  One of the cool things about following Christ is how honest we can be to each other almost instantly.  We strive to live lives of openness and transparency.  Nothing kills relationships and friendships like hidden sin.  That's what Gerad spoke out against in his testimony last night in recovery.  It was inspiring to see that kind of honesty and transparency be shown in that setting.  What gives me hope for Gerad is that at the end he said how much he loves Jesus, how he knows he's saved, and how he's still bitter and in the fight.  He didn't curtail where he honestly was at for the sake of looking good to the masses.

I had a conversation like this with my new friend at the Hydrant.  He was reading Augustine's Confessions, and was a part philosophy major at UNT, so he's obviously a deep thinker and man.  He said he doesn't have a blog or a facebook account.  His reasons are legit, they can create masks or projections of what you want people to see and in truth how you want to see yourself.  It's a great way to lie to yourself about who you are.  Obviously there can't really be any accountability about the discrepancy between reality and the digital world, but there can be striving for honesty in that.  I told him that in my blog I seek to be as honest as possible about my walk with the Lord, not for the sake of me looking good or looking 'like a strong christian' but as outlet to let my thoughts move out into the cosmos in hopes of finding readers who may think likewise and may need to see that they are not alone.

We live in a new age of transparency which is starting to manifest itself through more lax privacy standards which to my generation seem not strict enough but to the younger generation fits with the type of honesty they want to have.  I must say I'm on board.  I've always strived to be honest to anyone with who I am, where I am, and what I believe.  Granted, I'm a coward so telling strangers or acquaintances about Jesus is still hard for me, and yes I'm working on that.

Obviously there are limitations on how honest a person can be on the internet, as there are things that don't need to be shared in mixed company and some deep stuff that only a few select men know about me.  Otherwise, I try to let this be a forum where I can write whatever crazy ideas may be rolling around in this thick skull of mine.

I seek to be honest.  Honest with Jesus.  Honest with myself.  I'm thankful for following Jesus who allows me to be wrong and not be cast out, that I can have hard times and he walks through them with me, his grace allows me to be free.