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 was healed from his deadly sickness, the son of the king of Babylon sent letters to Hezekiah, letting him know that he was glad about his recovery. However, when the messengers that carried the letters came to Hezekiah, he opened his house and kingdom and showed them everything in his house. He showed them the treasuries and the palace; he hid nothing from these men.
When Isaiah the prophet heard about this incident, he asked Hezekiah, What have they seen in thine house? Isaiah knew that Hezekiah foolishly opened his house to these men. Isaiah then told Hezekiah that because he opened his house to these people, they would one day take everything from his house and destroy his family.
God was teaching a critical principle in this incident from Hezekiah’s life that our homes should not be an open house for all to see. Too many people are too open about family matters when it is not everyone’s business what goes on inside the walls of our home. Now, before the pharisee starts to condemn me about covering up sin; I am not talking about not calling the police when someone breaks the law. When someone inside the house breaks the law, you certainly should call the police and let them deal with the accusation of the crime. However, everything else that happens in our home needs to be kept in our homes.
I tend to be a very private person when it comes to our family. It is not that I have something to hide; it is that I don't want to give outsiders a weapon to use against my family, and I don't want others to become too familiar with us. You must always remember that the more you open your house to others, the more familiar you become with each other, which opens the door to sin. Many families have experienced infidelity because they became too familiar with another couple. I am not against you having good friends, but I am against you becoming too familiar with these friends that there is nothing they do not know about you.
One reason God warns against the strange woman in the book of Proverbs is because He knows the heartache that adultery causes. The strange woman is not someone you don't know, but it is someone you are very familiar with who should not know as much as they do about you. When you start sharing personal information about yourself and your family with another person, they become a potentially strange person with whom you become willing to commit sin.
Moreover, the more you open your house to others, the more information you give them to use against you if they become your enemy. Many have given others too much information about their private matters only to see these matters become public when the one you shared those matters with became your enemy. If you don't open your house to anyone but your immediate family, you don't give others ammunition to use against you if they turn on you.
My friend, I believe it is wise to keep your personal life, financial life, and married life private. Don't be an open house to anyone. Only your immediate family should know private matters, and only the private matters that pertain to them.
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