April 23, 2009
Smile
Smile! You're on candid camera. That line from the old television show seems to
be increasingly true all the time.
Everywhere I go these days it seems I'm under video surveillance. Most
intersections of any importance have traffic cameras and many have photo radar.
The banks have cameras inside and outside as well as at the ATM. Retail stores
have a plethora of cameras watching every square foot. Even elevators in a lot
of places seem to have them installed. That's just the ones I've noticed and
there undoubtedly many more that I'm not aware of.
You can go to places like Google Earth and see satellite photos of your home.
The ones you can access are somewhat dated for security reasons but still you
can see what you neighbors were doing when the satellite passed by. I looked up
my address and I could tell I was home because the truck was in the driveway. To
top it off somebody, somewhere has access to current, high resolution versions
of that same data.
People have still cameras and video cameras built into their cell phones. It's
mind boggling to think of how many times in a given day someone is taking a
picture or movie of us.
Governments can track all your internet use and monitor all your telephone
calls. They don't bother with most of us because we're not a threat but the fact
remains that they have the capability.
If that isn't enough the retailers and credit card companies track all your
purchases. They can tell where you have been, when you where there and what you
bought.
It's beginning to feel like George Orwell had it right in his 1949 novel "1984".
It does seem like Big Brother is watching, privacy is increasingly an illusion.
They (whoever "they" are) are watching.
There's someone else who's watching all the time from on high. He doesn't just
see pictures of us, read our mail or listen to our calls. He sees everything. He
knows our thoughts, our desires and the condition of our hearts. He of course,
is God.
That might make some people very uncomfortable and so it should. Yet those of us
who know Him have no reason to fear.
Psalm 33:13-22 NIV
From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth--
he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
For those who love and fear the Lord we can rejoice and take comfort that He
watches over us and see our every need.
Until next time ... smile and rejoice. God is watching.
Blessings!
Darrel Mason