I remember a time when it was a common practice for parents to remind their children that God was watching what they did. Then some over-educationed, unlearned, nincompoops who thought they knew more than the Bible came along and told us it was unhealthy to do so. Considering how that generation turned out, it seems to me that it was the parents,as well as the children, who should have been thinking about God watching them.
The fact of the matter is–God is watching us. He observes all our ways and deals with us accordingly. That’s a fact that should impact the way we live. I love what football coach Joe Gibbs wrote regarding this matter:
It used to just be celebrities who had to live with the possibility that someone could be filming or taking pictures of them at any moment. But today, we’re all fairly accustomed to knowing that a camera is likely trained on us at every store entrance, every ATM machine, perhaps even when we’re trying to decide whether to run through a yellow light or not.
We’re a watched society—which can be troubling when we imagine how far some people could take these surveillance capabilities. But be that as it may, there’s an element of this that keeps us accountable. It keeps us honest, keeps us careful of our actions. In fact, it’s sort of a reminder that God’s cameras are always rolling—that he sees it all, even when no one else is looking. “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.” (Proverbs 5:21).
We may not always be happy about that. There are parts of our average day that we’d just as soon keep private. But the fact that he’s watching is true just the same. Our job is to live in such a way that this knowledge is more comforting than convicting—to be glad that he “seeth in secret” (Matthew 6:6), to know that our desire is to please him and stay in close fellowship with him every minute of the day.
— Help me remember, Lord, that my life is an open book before you. Let this knowledge both change and challenge me. (Scripture references changed to KJV)
