Who's Watching?

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17 NLT

Have you ever wondered how you would feel if you found out that your conversations were being recorded? What if your actions were being secretly video taped? I have thought about it. It made me cringe. Would I be pleased if I had to play back the way I sounded when dealing with my children? What about a disagreement with my husband? Did I sound respectful or like a nagging wife? What about the attitude I had in Wal-Mart with two children in tow and a crowd of people around? It’s quite possible someone was watching. What about those secret conversations where we are being vindictive or making cutting remarks about someone, gossiping or complaining? Even if no-one else is watching or listening, God is.
This verse reminds us that as children of God, we are representing Christ. Always. At home with our spouse and children, at the grocery store, at a ball game, at work, on social networks…always. Our actions and our words (including how we say them) are to glorify God. I don’t know about you, but I know I have failed at this more than I would like to admit. So how do we go about achieving this instruction? We have to deliberately do it. We have to make a quality decision and a conscious effort to control our tongues and behave in a way that is pleasing to our Father. We know what pleases Him by reading His word. The New Testament, especially Ephesians, James and 1 Corinthians, is rich with scripture about how we should conduct ourselves and relate to other people. But it's not enough to read it, we have to do it. (James 1:22,23) We should dwell on developing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives and ask the Holy Spirit to work in us to do so. The Spirit's fruit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Galatians 5:22-23
We can’t control what other people do or what they say, but we can be good representatives of the Lord when we seek to please Him in our words and actions.  By doing so, we are being obedient to God. The second part of the verse says to give thanks to God through Jesus. Being a representative of Christ is not a burden but a privilege and an honor. Let’s make sure to thank him for that blessing.

Whatever we meditate on becomes our words and actions, so let this be our prayer:  "May the meditation of my heart and the words of my mouth be pleasing to you, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14

For further study, see Ephesians 4:17-32.