Email. Social Media. Credit Card Companies. Banks.
Every part of your life has someone trying to gain access and steal something they deem valuable. People trying to hack into something.
Some valuable time is then spent trying to create a password that can be remembered but not guessed. The attempts keep coming.
The problem is not new. People for centuries have wanted what someone else has and have gone to great lengths to get it, without having done the actual work. But in our connected world of social media, online everything, the stakes seem bigger than before.
Everything is accessible.
In a few key strokes your account is in the hands of someone else and you loose control. What will they post? Will people that we care about be affected? Will I loose everything and have to start over?
We have been reading through the Bible agin this year at church. We talk about it in Bible Study and on multiple text based conversations each week. We've arrived at The Good News of Mark. John the Baptizer makes his appearance. "Repent" is the call. And people do. Jesus is baptized. The powerful want a part of this so they arrive and start "hacking." They want what John seems to have. Power. And when they don't get it there is a measure of relief when John is disposed of. If they can't have his stuff then he can't either.
And they miss out on the real treasure. "The One coming after me.""The One I'm not worthy to take off his shoe." What was the value of John? His camel hair jacket? His leather belt? His sack lunch?
I believe it was his obedience to the Father. In the face of those who wanted power, John remained faithful to the One who called him out of the wilderness.
John's treasure was the belief in a heavenly Father who would forgive. John's treasure was tied up in the truth of a heavenly Father who could transform the broken. The treasure was the hope that God the Father would fulfill His words through the prophets and use His people as a light and that God Himself would be that Light that came into the darkness. And the Light of the World, Jesus, said of John after his death, that John was the "greatest among men." John had fulfilled his role of the forerunner and directed people to the Son of God. That is a powerful accolade that no one can steal from John.
I'm not sure why people want to hack any of my accounts. They will laugh at my bank balance. They will find that I don't run in circles with the rich and famous so hacking them through me is fruitless. But what I hope they find as they continue to try and break in and steal is a life that points to something greater. The same Treasure that John spoke of and lived for, and gave his life for in the end. Maybe they will see that.
And if my social media accounts end up in their hands? My prayer is that those who receive the spam, the links, the files that usually accompany that type of activity, will know where my treasure has been and know that there is an imposter at work.
awesome.
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