Isaiah 39:4
“ Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.”
After Hezekiah recovered from a deadly sickness, the king of Babylon sent servants to supposedly bring presents to show his pleasure in Hezekiah’s recovery. While the servants were there, Hezekiah made a great mistake by showing these servants where all his money was kept, where the armour and ammunition was stored and the palace and all its fancies. Hezekiah didn’t keep these men from seeing anything in his kingdom.
Some would think that there is nothing wrong with showing everything, but there are some things everyone doesn’t need to see. There are some things that need to be kept private. What Hezekiah thought was not that bad eventually led to his children being captive to the same king to whom he revealed everything. What should have been kept private became everyone’s knowledge, and that led to the destruction of his own family and kingdom.
There seems to be a thought among people that we show everyone the treasuries of our home and life. Yet, the principle of this story is very clear in that there are some things everyone doesn’t need to know. There should be a mystique about families because we don’t show everyone all of our kingdom. Those who break down the walls of mystique in their lives are the ones who end up being captive to sin. There are some areas I believe that are important to keep private in our lives.
First, keep your finances private. Your finances are not everyone’s business. Too often we reveal our finances to everyone only to find that you are either criticized for having too much money or for not taking care of your finances as you should. I don’t believe you should be dishonest about your financial situation, but you don’t have to tell everyone about it either. Your finances are not anyone’s business but your family’s and those from whom you desire to borrow money.
Second, keep your family life private. I believe one of the greatest tragedies we see today is that too many families tell everyone about their family. Your family needs to keep its private life private. It’s not everyone’s business what your family does. I’m not promoting a double life at all, but I am promoting that family issues stay private unless you are getting counsel. It’s truly not everyone’s business what your family does on its own time. This will keep you from getting too close to another family and either seeing their weaknesses and losing admiration of them or committing immorality with them.
Third, keep the marriage bed private. This area is truly only between a husband and wife. Don’t break down the walls of mystique in this area. It’s nobody’s business what a husband and wife do together. That MUST be kept private, even among your close family. If someone starts to talk to you about this area, then you need to politely ask them to stop, for you are entering a danger zone when you reveal the marriage bed to anyone. Even pastors need to be careful about entering this area in marriage retreats. Keep this area private, and only talk in public to married couples to the same degree the Scriptures talk about it.
Friend, there are some things you need to keep private in life. We may live in a social networking and reality television world that wants to reveal all, but we should not live that way. Keep these areas private, and you will protect your marriage and family from heartache.
Allen Domelle is the editor of the Old Paths Journal which is more than just a Christian’s publication. It is an excellent place to learn how today’s headlines will forge tomorrow’s laws and statutes. Keep yourself in tune with what is happening around the world, as well as in your own backyard with our daily updates and devotionals.