Who is watching us? We know our lives are being tracked on a daily basis. Everything we do is being monitored. Jump on social media and you’ll get sent little packets of spy-ware (yes those helpful cookies) which take information from you. As a friend often notes, “You are the product.”
Once you interact with any media, that event is practically indelible. People have lost jobs because of careless remarks made on social media years ago. And the government takes note.
There are cameras on street corners, in stores, trains and highways. The police wear them, and they’re mounted on dashboards. One cannot go to anywhere without running the risk of having a photo or movie taken via someone else’s cell-phone, against your wish. I don’t like my picture being taken.
Who is watching us? Everyone! We might be able to minimize exposure in some circumstances, but it cannot be entirely avoided.
God is watching
But never mind all the above. God is watching us. That’s what really counts. And he is omniscient.
Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:7-10
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to you. Psalm 139:11-12
Psalm 139 is both sobering and comforting. No one can hide from God. He upholds the cosmos and keeps us in His hand. And He can see all wickedness being manifested incomparably better than all the tracking cookies and CCTV cameras combined.
We must be ever watching
One ought to be alert when wandering into unfamiliar territory. Richard Sibbes tells us that, “we are travelers through our enemy’s country.” He warns that this is Satan’s place, where he reigns, being the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). See also Ephesians 6:12.
Sibbes further observes that the worst enemy is our own heart, which Satan uses against us. Moreover, Satan never sleeps, while we must.
Be sober and vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9
Finally, Sibbes gives us some pastoral comfort,
Beloved, since our life is a vigil, a warring time, a race, and a watched time, we must be waiting and looking for the return of Christ.
To which I say a hearty Amen!
Maranatha!
Further reading
Twenty-first Century Evangelicalism and Sin
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