Tomorrow is the Super Bowl; countless Americans (and many more around the world) will tune in as the Rams and Bengals meet for all the marbles. Any incredible play or costly mistake will be seen (and then talked about) by millions; all of which will have seen the same game broadcast as everyone else. Have you ever wondered how many people are watching the same thing at any given moment?
A while back, I got a scam email from someone saying they had hacked into my computer’s webcam, and that they had video of me that they were going to send out to all my contacts if I didn’t pay the ransom. Now, I knew this was fake; I even considered calling their bluff, but I just deleted it. Many people choose to cover their laptop’s camera with a piece of tape, because there really are people out there who can hack into the camera and watch what they do, whenever they want.
Last week, one of my coworkers and I used my work computer to join a conference call with someone in a different state. We hadn’t done a video call in a long time, and for well over a year I had kept a piece of tape over the camera. I took the piece of tape off so the other person in the video call could see us, but it got me thinking: what good is the piece of tape? If I’m not doing anything wrong, who cares if some hacker in China is watching me from the other end of the planet?
Someone much more important is always watching: the LORD, and Jesus. There is an old Sunday School song that goes something like:
“Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
Oh be careful little eyes what you see,
For your Father up above is looking down in love,
So be careful little eyes what you see.”
(followed by “be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little hands what you do, and so on).
The Apostle Paul tells us to abstain from all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22), to give our adversaries no reason nor occasion to speak badly of us; to be above reproach. Zig Ziglar once said, “live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it.” We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). The LORD searches and knows you (Psalm 139:1). Keep your conduct honorable, so that when people speak evil of you, they may see your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:12).
Every moment, everything you do and say, is monitored carefully by the LORD. He is looking not for fault (he doesn’t need to look for that; nothing is hidden from him; it is all in plain view), but looking out for you, because he wants you to be in his Kingdom with his Son, Jesus. It will be his great pleasure to have you there (Luke 12:32), but without holiness no man shall see him (Hebrews 12:14). Invite him to search and know you, and see if there be any wicked way in you, to lead you in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
Grace and peace,
Dan
(Side note: this is the Super Bowl matchup that I’ve secretly wanted for a while—my high school’s mascot was a Tiger, and my college’s mascot was a Ram; I’m cool with whoever wins, but predicting the Rams win 28-17).
Dan Gaitanis 