That Poster May-2018 “You can trust God with your data”

21st May 2018 That Poster (Outreach Media)

There’s good reason to be worried about what happens to our data. Smart phones and computers store so much of our personal information. For example… photos, political opinions, religious beliefs, bank account details. Or those emails from when you were sacked or that argument you had with your mother in law. The potential for embarrassment or even blackmail from data in the wrong hands is significant.

But whose hands are the wrong hands? Google, Facebook and Amazon try to capture our every thought and action so they can either sell us things or else sell our profile to advertisers and other companies. Tim Cook, the head of Apple, says, ‘When an online service is free, you’re not the customer – you’re the product.’ Recently, Apple has been telling its users that ‘Privacy is a human right’. But then, can we trust Apple?

And is privacy a human right? It’s certainly a time in history where it’s harder than ever to leave past mistakes behind and start again. In a globalized, connected world, one can’t just escape over a border and disappear to start again somewhere else. The Internet preserves and is able to divulge all kinds of mistakes that we’d prefer to be forgotten.

In case you weren’t aware, since God is our maker, He has access to all our data. In the Bible, King David prays to God and says, ‘Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely’ (Psalm 139:4). Therefore, since God knows about our every wrong thought, word and deed, the question is, ‘What will God do with our data?’ Will he punish us by exposing our offenses against Him and shame us before everyone?

No. You’ll be relieved to know that God’s promised to entirely erase this data for those who come to him in repentance. 2000 years ago at the cross, God put all our guilt and shame onto His Son, Jesus, in our place. And since our offenses have now been dealt with, God has chosen to forget about them. He said through the prophet Isaiah long before Jesus came,

“I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25)

So, turn to God in repentance. Acknowledge your wrongdoing against him, put your trust in Jesus for forgiveness, and thank him for his kindness to you.

Ian Brunton