So, there’s a new app out called “TigerText”. They say it’s perfect for cheating spouses, shady politicians, sexting teens, and people who send a lot of stupid texts while drunk. According to Time Magazine…
It works like this: when, say, a prominent politician sends his mistress an iPhone message via TigerText, the mistress will be prompted to install the app. When she has done so, she can read the message, but she can’t keep it. In fact, the message is never actually sent to her phone; it’s stored on TigerText’s servers. After the politician’s specified time span has elapsed — anywhere from one minute to five days — the message ceases to exist. There’s even a “delete on read” setting, which counts down from 60 after a message is opened and erases its text at zero.
For those who need an even more comprehensive way to cover their tracks, the “delete history” option will wipe away any evidence of a given phone call. No telltale suspicious numbers, no chance of getting caught out by the old “press redial” routine.
I’m often shocked at my arrogance in thinking I can get away with certain things. I’ve seen how certain sins have impacted others but…
I think: I know they got caught, but I’m smarter.
I think: I know they couldn’t handle it, but I’m stronger.
I think: I know it destroyed them, but I won’t let it go that far.
Then I’m reminded of these words in Galatians 6:7.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
I’ve got some pretty amazing apps on my iPhone, but there is no app that erases that truth.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
I’ve got some pretty amazing apps on my iPhone, but there is no app that erases that truth.”
AMEN, Pete, Amen. There are no shortcuts to following Christ.
Wow. I can’t believe the stuff out there! Sad, very sad.
First of all, would the text really be erased, or would it still be “out there”, floating around in cyberspace? I don’t know much about this sort of thing, but from what I’ve heard, you can’t really get rid of anything in cyberland.
Secondly, it’s a sad, sad world when people encourage others to have affairs and send raunchy texts to others, etc. and give the impression that it’s OK. That definitely shows us what kind of world we live in. It’s disgusting, really.
.-= Shelley´s last blog ..Prayer Request =-.
P.S. I notice that my last blog post is wrong (for whatever reason). I just posted a new one about 5 minutes ago…just sayin’, lol.
.-= Shelley´s last blog ..Prayer Request =-.
my guess is that it’s still somewhere.
Isn’t there a point where technology crosses the line? Is this is? Are we there now? Or is something else going to come along that makes me feel nothing but shame for my fellow humans.
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Cracked =-.
Obviously technology can be used for good and bad. The reality is humans have been trying to hid their sin from the beginning of time. If Adam and Eve had an iphone they probably would have used an app instead of a bush.
“If Adam and Eve had an iphone they probably would have used an app instead of a bush.”
Well played Pete Wilson, well played.
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Cracked =-.
Haha, I just pictured them standing there holding their iPhones over their…unmentionables.
.-= Rocco´s last blog ..Get out of the Boat! =-.
Can I get a witness? AMEN!
p.s….coming my way today Pete, i’ll buy you dinner for a chance to meet you
I would love to but our schedule is packed. I’ll be there less than 24hrs.
Can I get a rain check?
Absolutely, may actually venture out your way sometime to visit the area and church.
WOW…my heart actually sinks for all of humanity to read this. It seems that the further the technological advances we make the further away we move from strong moral values.
You can’t erase the truth but letting the truth of your past sins haunt you for 20 years is bad too. We’ve gotta claim the cross and at some point move on. I beat myself up for 20 years and was ineffective most of that time.
I totally agree Bob. I think this verse is speaking more to the natural consequences of sin.
While I know I’ve been forgiven for my sins and I no longer have to live with that guilt there are still lingering consequences to my poor choices.
God forgives but doesn’t always remove the consequences that impact us and the people around us.
I don’t have an iPhone so that app won’t affect me. I choose not to have an affair because I love my wife, my daughters and love God even more. I know…a little off topic but it is sad that we look for ways how not to get caught. It is almost like saying, “It is ok but don’t get caught.”
.-= Bill (cycleguy)´s last blog ..Are You Going? =-.
This is heartbreaking. Why do we, as a society (and me also!) tear down what is good when we should build it up. Is anybody making a LOVE your spouse app, where you can plug in 10 reasons why you’re blessed wit the gift of a spouse, THE spouse, God has gifted? I need THAT app, not the one that my stupid brain and faithless heart can do on it’s own. We should be tearing down walls and building bridges, not building walls and burning bridges.
I’m glad you posted this, Pete. I didn’t have kind words for my dear husband this morning, I think I’ll text him some love right now. THX for the eye-opener.
(And if this is really true, the TigerText, it is truly heartbreaking.)
.-= Tina Dee´s last blog ..Guest author Jennifer AlLee ~ The Pastor’s Wife ~ GIVEAWAY =-.
So…umm…wow…
Genesis 16:3, “…”You are the God who sees me,”
Completely blows me away…
.-= Michael´s last blog ..Tithing by Douglas Leblanc =-.
Adam and Eve hid to try and hide their sin…there’s nothing new under the sun.
What surprises me is that this wasn’t being offered years ago.
.-= Jason´s last blog ..LAST DAY to try and win tickets to the Home Foundation Benefit! =-.
I am just amazed at how bold they are…
also don’t forget that it never is just erased, the thing about this app is that the company has records of the text and lets say tiger woods was using this app before he got caught in his marital affairs, I can’t image this company would not sell his text to the highest bidder.
Goes back to your point, nothing is full proof and God will not be mocked.
That ap is heartbreaking
Nothing prevents the person from taking a screenshot of the text.
Not foolproof.
Now, if only these people used their time to find ways to do something constructive.
.-= @austinklee´s last blog ..Short =-.
Well said Pete. But seriously, if someone has an iPhone and they want proof, all they have to do is take a screen shot, so they would have photographic proof that the message did exist. I think most of these women who get involved with married celebs know what they’re doing, and they’re in it for the money and publicity. But maybe I’m just being judgmental. LOL
Oh yeah, and if your spouse finds this app on your iPhone, you’re automatically guilty by association. Does the app hide itself so you don’t get caught using it?
I was thinking the exact same thing!
This just shows the lengths to which people will go to cover their tracks, but you’re right pete; the bible tells us that whatever we sow, we will reap. And the scary part of that is that:
1)reaping is inevitable. harvest time always comes.
2)the harvest is always in greater proportion than the sowing. one seed produces a whole lot more than one more seed.
.-= Matt Bowman´s last blog .. =-.
Wow. This makes me mad…righteous indignation. Seriously. How arrogant. Even before the words cross my lips or thoughts jump across synapse…the God of all creation sees and hears and knows.
I love chapter 6 of Galatians. Verse 3 is kinda relevant here too:
“If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
.-= jessica´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
This makes me ill. Seriously? I don’t understand WHY we as people condone that kind of behavior. “Hey – sure, here’s an app to help you cheat on your wife/husband. It’s all ok.” It’s so ridiculous – I mean, who spends time coming up with this stuff and how is that even okay to promote to the masses?
Sorry. It’s disgusting. No, we’re not all perfect, but, Pete, you’re right. God won’t be mocked.
Home run, Pete. Home run. “Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4)
.-= Jonathan´s last blog ..Spring Up, O Well — the songwriter’s notebook =-.
WOW! Unbelievable…
There is an article out showing that when people are in the dark (even when they wear sunglasses) they become more deceitful then normal.
If I was a gambling man, I’d say this is going to be a popular App.
.-= Derek´s last blog ..My Reader To You: 02.03.10 =-.
I guess its like “Protected Sex” outside of marriage – Sure you may be protecting yourself from one consequence, but you can’t protect yourself from the other baggage and issues that are a result of our sin.
.-= Nick´s last blog ..If Your Scars Could Speak =-.
I am not shocked, really. I am rather disappointed in humanity though. However, that just goes to show you that we must keep our trust in the One who sacrificed His life for us. He is the TRUTH and the TRUTH will set us free!
Hey I’ve got a novel idea…”How not to get caught having an affair?”
DON’T HAVE AN AFFAIR!
.-= Cindy Graves´s last blog ..Comfort Isn’t Always #1 =-.
I was thinking the very same thing!
.-= Tony York´s last blog ..Thoughts on the Church Hunt =-.
Sigh…. Sin is already hard enough…
.-= Trish´s last blog ..Marvelous Me Week =-.
Even though the text “ceases to exist” the baggage from the text remains. Hard to know that people are actually thinking of ways to help broken people become more broken and hiding people hide longer.
great post as usual. i do think it’s funny that you have a tag called “affairs”. just a funny observation. thanks for your ministry.
Amen!!!
Amen! Honesty is such a good thing.
.-= Rob´s last blog ..Be Thou My Vision =-.
That is crazy! Crazy!
.-= Lindsey Nobles´s last blog ..Miscellaneous Thoughts from Thirty Thousand Feet =-.
AMEN to the final ZINGER Pete! Good one!
Amazing what people try to hide. I know. I’ve been there…in that darkness. Now I write about people who are just wanting to be “seen”. Kinda like your encounter with Kim from 6 mths ago.
Stories are just unfolding and it’s amazing what God is doing with my heart.
Here’s to keeping it all in the Light!!
.-= Lisa Arnold´s last blog ..Giant. Cookies. Stephanie =-.
WOW! Crazy, crazy! Great post, though.
.-= Ashley Weis´s last blog ..New Posts About Porn & Healing =-.
cool where can i get that app
Thanks for the app suggestion, be looking into it!
.-= Danny Bixby´s last blog ..Putting the Electric Guitarist on Notice =-.
i just got that pit-in-my-stomach feeling.
::
thankful for the hard stand you take for truth.
.-= alece´s last blog ..monday morning confession: =-.
Although, the nefarious uses jump to mind I think this app offers something legitimate as well. The first to come to mind would be sensitive company data and contractors. You would hope that their phone was secure but now you can add a level of security.
I do hope that a technology such as this wasn’t built with the sole purpose of hiding sin.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
I am more that scared that my children’s children will reap what I sow! As in “sins of the father”!
.-= Tony Grogan´s last blog ..Hello world! =-.
I’m with you Tony!
.-= pete wilson´s last blog ..Divine Appointments =-.
The eyes of the Lord are in everyplace beholding the evil and the good. You can run and you can hide but you can not get away from God’s infra red xray eyes.
.-= Jim F.´s last blog ..Define or Refine? =-.
gotta go with Numbers 32:23: “…you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.”
.-= Stephen´s last blog ..The Difference Between Where I Work and Facebook HQ =-.
gotta go with Ecclesiastes 10 v19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.
Speaking from a girl whose best friend’s husband got caught in a two year affair recently after she saw his phone… this makes me so angry I could spit. I get it that people are going to make choices regardless of technology. What makes me angry is that we are living in a world where we are encouraging the sin and not the redemption. Did they sit in a room and laugh while they created this? I want to pray for them more than the people downloading the app.
.-= gitz´s last blog ..Who Are You? =-.
Wow! I recently heard that 50% of all people cheat. I am saddened by the heart of our culture that condones and even encourages infidelity. Isn’t that just like Satan to further attack and pervert the very institution that was designed by God to mirror His relationship with the church. I think that we as Christians have a big responsibility to nurture our own relationships and encourage those around us in their’s. A husband and wife who love each other wholeheartedly as they each love God make a powerful force.
.-= Mandy´s last blog ..Half a year! =-.
How sad, but we don’t really need apps in order to hide our sin. I do a good enough job without Apple helping me.
.-= David Knapp´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday Literally =-.
Great post, Pete.
I am thanking God there is no app that connects everything I THINK to a Twitter account which is followed by everyone I know and hold dear. But maybe I would tame my tongue a bit more if everything I SAID was tweeted. Talk about an accountability partner! Like you said, like anything, technology can be used for good or evil.
You and me both Mike!
.-= pete wilson´s last blog ..Divine Appointments =-.
It’s all fun and games until someone reveals the snapshot of each text. Sure it may be deleted, but, on an iPhone you can snapshot anything. So, you literally could snapshot the whole conversation. With technology things are always traceable.
Wow. That’s amazing to find such an app. Thanks for lettin’ us know ’bout it. Good table convo..
.. Seriously!
.-= Faith Barista | Bonnie´s last blog ..Anyone Seen My Blueprints? — How Trouble Fits Into God’s Plans =-.
I think this actually makes me sad about our (the Christian community’s) efforts for the Kingdom.
Nobody is blogging about our cool apps that help to redeem, restore and bring about good around us….in our families, neighborhoods, and beyond.
How about an app that kept you connected through the day with your spouse?
Or an app that shared texts for accountability?
Or an app that….Oh…I’m not creative enough….come on creative people…..Create!
How about Pete gives out a copy of his new book to the person that creates most redemptive, restorative, marriage building, life giving, that would appeal and be helpful to Christians and non-Christians alike app?!?!?!?!?!?
Love it. I’ll give them 2 books!!!!
If I knew how to build an app I soo take you up on that offer!
kc you are sooo right!
.-= Derek´s last blog ..My Reader To You: 02.03.10 =-.
the cynic in me wonders how many people just downloaded that app. sad. yuk. urghh….
sorry…that’s all i got
.-= melissa irwin´s last blog ..Blessings Rain =-.
Im more concerned with the fact that kids could use this app. I mean I hope that parents dont let their kids have iphones but i wouldnt be surprised. Bad bad idea all around.
.-= jessica´s last blog ..Community Group =-.
WOW! The said thing is someone took productive time to create and make that app work when they could have been HELPING people somehow. It’s sad to me that there are products helping people cheat. Explains why those of us who want to be completely devoted to one partner for the rest of our lives have trouble finding others with the same mindset! Thanks Pete!
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..31 Day Challenge =-.
um – yikes – how sad!
Dang… that was a zinger! “…there is no app that erases that truth.”
I really appreciate you opening up and sharing the arrogance that you’re sometimes tempted to step into. I’m grateful for people like you who expose these thoughts so that people like me can know we’re not alone in the struggle.
It would be easy for me to judge the cell phone application users, but cheating on my spouse just doesn’t happen to be the sin that I struggle with; I have other issues.
I’m so grateful that we have a Savior who offers forgiveness, and that He’s given us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to overcome temptation, and that He’s given us one another to encourage in making the right choices.
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..Take a deep breath… =-.
While I agree this “TigerText” app is indeed sad…as we register our shock and dismay, the reality is this is the way people think in the brick & mortar and cyber world. Outside and (some) inside the church.
What captivates me IMHO is this is evidence that we need to be in the world, getting involved in people lives. A “real life app” so to speak.
I would be interested in hearing your thoughts Pete (and others), on how we can be involved in peoples lives and being there at crucial crossroads to actual impact their journeys.
What if Tiger had someone like you Pete, walking with him through life’s messiness? Someone who really cared about him, not his celebrity status. Someone who because of real relationship, was able to speak truth into his life.
How do we walk with people, even as they are making bad choices?
How do we balance speaking the truth, while not judging?
It would also be a great hook for a message…
“Real time apps”
.-= Dorothy Hooland´s last blog ..real time apps… =-.
Great questions Dorothy. God’s allowed me to build some great relationships with men in my life who I get to speak truth into and they have the equal opportunity to speak into my life. I think it’s essential for all of us.
.-= pete wilson´s last blog ..Cross Point at Her Best =-.
Actually I knew that about you. It’s one of the reasons I continue to read your blog.
You are a “real time app”
.-= Dorothy Holland´s last blog ..real time apps… =-.
But wouldn’t your spouse be able to see that you have the “Tiger Text” app and thus know that you’re having an affair?
Just a thought.
.-= Jesse Medina´s last blog ..The Good Samaritan: The Impossible Ideal Means Good News =-.
Thanks for the sobering reminder, Pete. Though “thanks” doesn’t quite feel like the right thing to say.
The human mind will go through all kinds of mental gymnastics to justify or normalize our bent toward sin. I know my heart has gone there many times. You’re right…no app can erase the TRUTH.
.-= Randy Kinnick´s last blog ..Small Fears =-.
1. This makes me sick!
2. Was this created after the Tiger Woods scandal or is the name just a coincindence?
3. How much money are people paying for this?
Seriously? Wow.
I am amazed with what use Technology can be put to. No matter what we do, I dont think we can hide from ourselves. How do you erase that part of your memory where the phrase “I know what I did, even when no one else does” exists? Guess, someday technology will do that too. I hope it doesnt.
.-= Mysoul´s last blog ..Running =-.
Faketext is a hot new app that allow you to hide your real text messages on your iPhone. Check it out at faketext.com, you can go there straight from your iPhone since it is a webapp and is free.
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