Briefing: A term that keeps coming up lately is “off the grid”. This used to be a term used to imply government spies or secret agents like the CIA or KGB.

Dispatch (Assignment): Who is watching you?

On the Street: Children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Christian school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. Someone had written a note and placed it next to the apples. It read, “Take only one, God is watching.” Moving through the line, to the other end of the table, was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. One little boy wrote his own note and sneaked it next to the cookies, “Take all you want, God is watching the apples.”

Times are changing. I started my career months before the Rodney King incident. It was the beginning of the “videotape the police” era. I remember older officers telling stories about what they were able to do before everybody started carrying video cameras. Back then the only thing you had to worry about was the sound of the news helicopters hovering overhead. They were the only people who were trying to video you.

Now we have laptops, in-car video systems, body mics, smartphones and GPS systems. There are many ways to capture our activities. I work in a large department with massive security measures. I am always amazed at the amount of surveillance coverage there is in our modern society. There are few places you can go today where you are not being recorded by something.

I, like many people, have the privilege of working in a big modern metropolitan city but living out in the country. There are times during my days off when my wife is at work and my kids are in school, and I have the whole house to myself. I feel very secure knowing that no one is watching me, except cows, chickens, horses, cats and a dog. But someone is watching me. I’m not being paranoid, but the truth is, God is always watching me.

Proverbs 5:21 (HCSB), “For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes, and He considers all his paths.”

Proverbs 11:1 (HCSB), “Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is His delight.”

Proverbs 15:3 (HCSB), “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.”

Proverbs 15:8-9 (NIV), “The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness.”

Proverbs 15:26 (HCSB), “The Lord detests the plans of an evil man, but pleasant words are pure.”

Proverbs 15:29 (HCSB), “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”

Proverbs 16:2-5 (NIV), “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. The Lord works out everything to its proper end, even the wicked for a day of disaster. The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”

Proverbs 16:9 (HCSB), “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”

Proverbs 16:25 (HCSB), “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Proverbs 16:33 (HCSB), “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

Proverbs 19:21 (HCSB), “Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.”

Proverbs 20:24 (HCSB), “A man’s steps are determined by the Lord, so how can anyone understand his own way?”

Proverbs 20:27 (HCSB), “The Lord’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life, searching the innermost parts..”

Proverbs 21:12 (HCSB), “The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked; He brings the wicked to ruin.”

Proverbs 21:30 (HCSB), “No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel will prevail against the Lord.”

Proverbs 22:12 (NKJV), “The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the faithless.”

Proverbs 24:17-18 (NKJV), “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.”

Proverbs 25:21-22 (HCSB), “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”

Proverbs 29:13 (NKJV), “The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.”

Proverbs 2:7-8 (NKJV), “He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; he guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.”

Character is defined by the things you do when you think no one is watching. If I realized that He always sees me, I think I would have better character.

Investigational Resources: Acts 9:1-6, Psalm 121, Psalm 127, John 3:19

Officer Safety Principle: Live your life as if always in front of a camera. Not because you don’t want to get caught doing something wrong, but knowing God can see what you are doing right.

from The Book of Proverbs Through the Eyes of a Cop
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
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