Private

It seems, at least on the surface, that we live in a new era.  Gone are the days where we knew everyone in our neighborhood.  Rare are the network of childhood friends who transcend time to become people engaged with us throughout our lives.  Even families are not expected to be in each other lives, unless it is mutually convenient. 
 
Today, individuals like their privacy.  Private conversations are just that, private.  Medical details, even when a life is at risk, are never shared; privacy must triumph!  I wonder if we realize the price, or how willingly we shed it when we need the support of those around us.
 
In a historical confrontation, one of the two parties was embarrassed.  Clearly this was a private matter.  “Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah answered the Rabshekah, ‘Please talk to us in Aramaic.  We understand Aramaic.  Don't talk to us in Hebrew within earshot of all the people gathered around.’
 
But the Rabshekah replied, ‘Do you think my master has sent me to give this message to your master and you but not also to the people clustered here?  It's their fate that's at stake.  They're the ones who are going to end up eating their own excrement and drinking their own urine.’”  (Isaiah 36.11, 12) 
 
As blunt as the message was, it would be good for us if we listened and heard with our hearts.  I’m not suggesting one publish intimate details in the local paper.  Having experienced the touch of those who care, I know God is interested in your life and mine.  This support comes from honest, transparent, and personal dialogue.  In sharing heart matters one opens themselves up to God’s voice.  As one engages in the heart matters of life, one finds themselves in the presence of the Spirit.  If there is a willingness by those present to live in love, act in compassion, and be accountable, anything is possible!
 
We seem to have lost the balance.  We can restore our life perspective; it starts with a simple conversation – from our heart to God and each other.