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One Facebook friend of mine suggested that we should simply accept such friend requests, investigate that individual's timeline content, and then, if necessary, unfriend them if we should discover something there that is not to our liking.

Personally, I disagree with that person's view. Why should I have to waste my valuable time even taking that step? If that person is truly eager for new online friends, then they need to loosen up their security a little, and take the initiative by unlocking their profile.

In my case, I have been online since mid-1993 for one reason only, and that is to be a witness of my Christian faith. As I have explained before -- such as in the article entitled "The Internet: Our Final Frontier; Your Last Chance? -- that is the main reason why I purchased my very first computer, which was a Mac LC III with a 160 MB hard drive, 8 MB of RAM, a 13” 256-color monitor and a floppy drive. Of course, I have found it necessary to upgrade my hardware a lot since that time.

So because being a witness of my Christian faith has for a long time been my primary reason for being online, all of my social network posts are set to "public" on every single social network where I participate. I don't have any kind of privileged class of friends who can see certain posts which non-friends cannot see.

However, at the same time, I am not stupid either. I realize what some unscrupulous online people can be like and how they sometimes act in a dishonest fashion. Thus, no one is able to comment on any of my social network posts -- on the Facebook platform in particular -- unless they are actually my friend. Personally, I think these settings offer a good, fair balance between being security-minded, while at the same time giving me the opportunity to be a public witness of my Christian faith.

Taking this a step further, because being a witness of my Christian faith is my primary goal and purpose for being online, I am thus interested in becoming friends with other like-minded Christians who also share a similar evangelical vision, and who also boldly and publicly share their faith online. That involves taking a little risk by making one's posts public. But isn't it worth it if others are drawn to Christ and to the truth of God's Word? I think so.

From my perspective, people who hide behind locked social network profiles raise an immediate red flag with me. I automatically ask myself "What are they hiding? What don't they want people to see? Is it a fake account? Are they some kind of a scammer or a dangerous hacker who wants to try to steal my login name and password? Do they want to impersonate my account? Are they a wannabe porn star who wants to trap me behind closed doors where they will bare their flesh? Or are they a crypto or Forex trader who wants to try to scam me out of money?"

Well, obviously, I don't know what motivates such people to lock their profiles. Perhaps there are some legitimate reasons for doing so. Maybe they have family problems. Or maybe they are in some kind of witness protection program. But regardless of their reasons, I am not going to accept their friend request, and potentially jeopardize my online safety in some way, or the safety of any of my other online friends either in order to find out where their head is at.

But that is not all. If the individual behind that locked profile is actually a Christian, then whether they realize it or not, by locking their profile, they are in effect hiding their spiritual light under a bushel. As some of you will know, doing so is totally contrary to what Jesus and the Apostles taught us, and contrary to what should be our primary goal as Christians. Consider the following Bible verses which make our goal and obligation to the Lord very clear:

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."


"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light."


"While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them."


"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children . . . For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light"


"That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"


As you can plainly see, our obligation to the Lord is not to hide our candle under a bushel. Neither are we to cower in fear behind closed doors, or behind a locked social network profile. Rather, our duty and responsibility is to let our spiritual light shine brightly for all the world to see. We need to be bold witnesses of our Christian faith, lest the Lord be ashamed of us. Of course, how each person chooses to carry out the Lord's mandate in their own life is entirely up to them and their personal faith and initiative. Allow me to share some additional verses with you which prove this very point:

"But, lo, he speaketh BOLDLY, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?"


"Now when they saw the BOLDNESS of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus . . . And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all BOLDNESS they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with BOLDNESS."


"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."


"But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached BOLDLY at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake BOLDLY in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him."


"Long time therefore abode they speaking BOLDLY in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands."


"And he began to speak BOLDLY in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."


"And he went into the synagogue, and spake BOLDLY for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God."


"Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more BOLDLY unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,"


"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth BOLDLY, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."


"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all BOLDNESS, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death."


"So that we may BOLDLY say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."


"He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light."


"Quench not the Spirit."


"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."


"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."


"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."


"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."


"Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf."


However, while what I have stated in this short article is my personal position regarding the matter, at the same time, I recognize and respect that each social network user is free to do as they please on their own timeline. As I have often said, "Your timeline, your rules; and my timeline, my rules." However, be advised that as for me, if I receive a friend request from a locked profile, I am sorry, but I will simply turn down that friend request. That's just the way it is. As I said earlier, there are too many scammers, wannabe porn stars and other riff-raff on Facebook, as well as on the other social networks.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Are You a Burning Ember for the Lord?
Christian Witnessing: Winning the Sheep and Waging the Warfare!
Do You Stand Up for Your Faith?
The Internet: Our Final Frontier; Your Last Chance?
This Little Light, Glory of the Lord and Our Bright Future

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.