In Canada – for that matter, North America – we have a funny way of being secretive.

At one time secrecy meant that no one knew anything about what was being kept a secret. But it doesn’t mean that anymore.

In my town we’ve just had a terrorist threat diffused (literally).

Kingston, the very heart of Canadian power and wealth and knowledge, had someone making and planning on setting off an explosive designed for the purpose of terror.

Twenty or thirty years ago, we would never have even known that there was a threat. But now the public has a right to know. And the media has a right to investigate, ask questions and publish what there is to be known. 

Secrecy is kind of in the open now. 

This particular incident started with regular town’s folk noticing a plane circling the city, at low altitudes in the evenings. 

Social media was a buzz with people wondering what was going on. As the news media started to make it known to everyone, well, that’s when the RCMP were forced to admit that it was their surveillance plane … but that’s all they said about it. 

The word “surveillance” should have been enough for people to conclude, “Okay, something is happening and we need to let the authorities do their job and not draw any more attention to it.” 

But we don’t think that way. We want to know why. We have a right to know what they are watching and who they are watching. 

When arrests were finally made, a press conference was held to inform people what had taken place and what was happening next. 

… It’s all fine and good to be telling everyone about your top secret operation, but unfortunately then the terrorists also get in on what the authorities are doing when everything’s made public.

To be fair, the RCMP didn’t divulge information that would be crucial to the case, but I’ll bet other would-be terrorists will be checking the skies at night to look out for surveillance planes in the future. 

At one time my dad had been a mason, and I remember once when I was in my early teens, my older cousin grilled him on how he could identify other masons in a room. My dad hadn’t had anything to do with the organization for decades, but he still would not tell the secret. 

Government and security officials can’t keep secrets that way. There has to be transparency because we don’t trust them to do right things when they keep secrets.

Maybe it’s for the best that we don’t let CSIS or the Secret Service be too secretive. 

When I was a youth pastor we would play a game where I would tell a secret to one person. The secret would then be passed from person to person around a circle until the last person heard it and repeated it out loud. 

It was never the original secret. It was always some crazy line that was just plain nonsense. 

Hey, maybe that’s what the RCMP are telling us. Now that would be smart!

Here’s the thing: God has never kept secrets from us. He has made Himself known in nature and through the Old Testament scriptures. He clearly identified and made public His plan through His Son, Jesus, and the disciples recorded it all. Down through the ages, men and women of all nations have announced God’s presence and plan. … Maybe He should have kept it a secret. Then people would insist it’s their right and demand to know it. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What secret should you share? Leave your comments below.