When No One Is Watching

It is a scorching sunny day, and the street is so badly damaged that I try to walk along a sidewalk that ends a little farther ahead, but this short stretch is a relief for my feet. A relatively young man is walking toward me; we are still several yards apart,

I see him stop, look down at the ground to his left, hesitate for a moment, but then decide to keep walking. He passes by me and I continue on; curiosity overtakes me. What made him stop and become lost in thought?

I pass the place where he stopped and look down; then I understand his indecision: there is a cigarette on the ground. It looks fine, no one has touched it, and it is in good enough condition to be smoked. The temptation must have been terrible, but why did he not pick it up? Because he knew I was watching him! Everything would have been different if I had not been walking toward him.

And what does this have to do with us? Ah, brothers and sisters! The metamorphosis that takes place in us on some occasions when “No one is watching us” is incredible.

This reminds me of the fairy tales we heard as children. Do you remember? Princesses who at certain times were beautiful and at others were witches, or frogs, and so on. How much do we have in common with these characters? To what extent do we put on an act for those who are watching us? Is the way we conduct ourselves, dress, and communicate always the same? What happens when we believe no one is watching us?

I remember that one day I left a church and, a few blocks away, saw a brother—who was also the husband of one of the church’s leaders—smoking calmly in full view of everyone. The question we should then ask ourselves is: Is no one really watching us? Do you not feel His gaze upon you? Or do you merely believe that He watches you sometimes and is distracted at others? Does God not tell us in Job 34.21? “For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He sees all his steps.” This includes both our good and bad steps.

How long will we continue to put our God to the test? How long will we mock Him? How many of us have ever heard the phrase, “If this person is a Christian, I do not want to be one”? What are we doing to God! What image of Him are we presenting! We are turning our God into an object of ridicule. Yes, God’s eyes are always upon us. The Holy Spirit, who is always with us, is grieved. The tears shed in the Garden of Gethsemane water the earth once again every time we stray from our path of holiness.

The cigarette was not the problem; the real problem is what it represents: sin, temptation. You decide whether to pick it up or leave it there. But you can be certain: Someone is watching you, and those eyes search the very depths of your soul!