God is Watching

I don't spend a lot of time worrying about who is watching me. In fact, I spend most of my life thinking that no one really notices what I'm doing, and I am certain that no one ever recognizes me. Because I personally have a condition called prosopagnosia (facial blindness), I don't recognize others right away, so I am prone to believe that most folks don't recognize me, either. 

Imagine my surprise, then, when someone says they saw me doing something. Anything. 

One recent day, I went to work and had two persons from two different departments approach me over the course of the day and tell me they had seen me walking my dog that morning. A few days later, someone came up and asked me if I lived on a certain street; he'd driven by and seen me standing out with a shovel, obviously doing some kind of work around that address. (Actually, that was a favor I was doing for a neighbor, but it was still weird.) A few years ago, the local newspaper had a big picture of me on the front page, and an acquaintance from down the street and one of the cashiers at Walmart stopped me to tell me they recognized me and read the whole story because they knew who I was...and learned more from that story. Just recently, two neighbors came out to comment on how well I had done with home improvement projects I've recently completed - neither of which I thought were actually witnessed by anyone. Nobody was outside while I was working. 

But still, someone - a few someones - have been watching, apparently.

As Christians, we always have this idea in the back of our minds - or we should - that we do what we're doing for the Lord. That God is watching us all the time and that we never know who else might be. That we live our witness in quiet moments, unbeknownst to us that anyone is paying attention to our example. It's why we're always trying to be faithful, no matter the circumstances. 

I have often said, pray as though anyone watching might think you're drunk, citing the example of Hannah from 1 Samuel, who didn't know that anyone was watching her prayer. 

The Gospels tell us not to worry about who might be watching, but to just do what we do because it is pleasing to God. 

But the truth is...we live in a world that's watching more than we know. We live in a world that sees us even when we don't think anyone is looking. 

And we have a God who is always watching. Isaiah tells us He's watching quietly, from the place where He lives. (18:4)

It really makes me think. It makes me think about what my life reflects if it were God who came up and said He saw me walking my dog. Standing around with my shovel. Telling my story on the front page of the paper. Working on a few simple projects. 

Praying. 

What would my life say if God was the one listening to it speak? (He is.) What is my witness that God sees from His windows? What is my life saying in the moments when I forget that anyone might be watching, when I forget that God is watching? 

He sees it all. 

Am I living a life worth watching?