Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Google Privacy Policies Forcing Biblical Ideals?

So I read through an article on Gizmodo that discussed Google's new privacy policy which basically force links all your accounts on Google (Google+, Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube).  What that means plainly is that if you look up a place on Google Maps that info may show up when you're on your Google+ account or an email you send or read in Gmail that contains a name or song or comedian, may show up the next time you log onto YouTube as a suggestion.  Google will essentially store all your activity from every method you access so they can further tailor your user experience to the things you like or are interested in.  It basically means it's harder for you and I to be anonymous when using Google.

Now, don't freak out.  If you're a Facebook user or really, do anything online, your activity is followed, stored and available to someone, somewhere at sometime.

The Bible teaches that what a person does in their private life and what they do in their public life should be the same.  There are some who want to hide their lives from others and so probably would not like this new privacy policy.  Honestly, I don't want everyone knowing the things I've viewed online.  But it is a reminder to us that if we wouldn't want anyone to know what we're looking at or saying or doing on any given sight then we probably shouldn't be there in the first place.

Christians are often called hypocrites for this very reason -  being one person out in the open and another person when the doors are closed.  While this is damaging and has damaged the reputation of Christ over the years it is not the reason we should strive to be the same in every situation.  We should seek to be the same because God is watching us and the Holy Spirit lives in us, so whether we are walking in the light or at home or the office in the darkness, we should seek to live the same life.

So, bring on the new Google policies, maybe they will actually help us to live by this Biblical ideal.

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