Christians are some of the most open and loving people who trust unconditionally often. While I enjoy trusting others, I am also 72 years old and understand that there are few people in the world with whom we can share things about ourselves who will keep our confidences with loving kindness because of their deep Christlike love for us.
The maker of this video is a man I do not know, but this particular video contained good advice that we all could learn from. His channel is called "My Retired Life."
I confess there have been many times in my life when I have regretted sharing my opinion or things that have happened to me to those who used them later to judge me falsely or gossip to others about me. My bad decisions were held against me, even though they were resolved many years ago and no longer exist.
The five things that the man in the video shared were: 1) Regrets, 2) Pain, 3) Resentments, 4) Our plans, and 5) Our finances.
When we share these things with those who are only interested in having information to misinterpret for purposes of gossip or control over us, we have sabotaged our own lives. It is best to remove those from our lives who love to gossip and judge things that are none of their business.
When we walk with Christ, we have no need to share everything about ourselves with people. People tend to make their own interpretations without full knowledge, and they are frequently predisposed to jealousy.
Most people don't want to hear about our illnesses, they judge our regrets and resentments that we had to work through, they are jealous of our plans and will negate them merely because it doesn't pertain to them, and they will either become jealous of or attempt to use us when we share information about our finances. If our finances are not what they think they should be, they will judge that too.
Some of us have shared that we were sinful before we were born again, but the details are not necessary to convey that we were just like the unbeliever before Christ saved us.
The above-mentioned things not to share are only a distraction to the gospel. If the Holy Spirit compels us to share something that will be helpful to the hearer, then we can share, but continually sharing these things regularly to others is not wise.
Oversharing is possibly an indication of an insecure person who is looking to be validated by the hearer. The need to be exonerated or supplied with attention is not helpful to our walk with Christ or in our witness. Perhaps it is better for unbelievers to see more what we have become in Christ than the ills and pratfalls of our past.
1 Corinthians 6:11 "And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Perhaps it is enough to say to an unbeliever, "I was once just like you", rather than lengthy details about our sin. After all, it's not as much about individual sins as it is about our sinful nature that motivates the individual sins. No one can say they were not sinful before they were changed by Christ.
Colossians 3:7-8
"When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways. But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."
Praise God, He changes us, and praise God that He knows everything about us! No one can understand us like Jesus Christ!
It is best to dwell on what God did for us and not on what we used to be before He changed us, that would give the enemy a foothold.
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