Living Publicly

Ed Welch offers a beautiful vision of living publicly. He focuses mainly on addiction as a hindrance to living publicly.

Welch observes:

If there is one ecumenical feature of most theologies it is this: God sees and hears. He is omnipresent. Yet if there is one feature of most theologies that quickly slips from conscious awareness, it would be this one. Most sin is a temporary denial of how we live publicly. Addiction is the classic example. Most addicts will not indulge their addictions when a spouse, boss or parent is present. It’s amazing how much self-control we can have when people are watching. Most men who hit pornographic sites don’t do it when their kids are in the room.

This communal understanding of living publicly is also expressed in the great Alexander Schmemann who spoke consistently of “living for the sake of the world.” Just as you live publicly, so too, you sin publicly. Life in God’s family is a public matter; the covenant demands it. This is a lesson we need to hear again and again.