God Sees All

TITLE: God Sees All
DATE: February 24, 2019
TEXT: Proverbs 28:13 - ESV - Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
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When my father was a young boy he could go to the movies on a Saturday morning, see a few “B-grade” westerns, a serial and a feature film. Amazingly, none of those films would ever raise his blood-pressure, cause him a sleepless night, or force him to worry.

That’s because he knew that in all of those westerns the guy on the best horse, aka, the ‘good guy’ would always win. He was confident that no matter how desperate the situation of the hero in the serial, he would emerge unscathed. As far as the movie was concerned, well, he knew the good guys would come out on top.

By the time Pam and I started to go to the movies things had changed.

No longer was there an iron-clad guarantee of success for the cowboy wearing the white hat or riding the golden palomino. In MASH, Colonel Henry Blake’s helicopter  was shot down and he never managed to make it home so he could live the American dream.

The reason for the switch? Directors assured us that ‘living happily ever after” wasn’t real, and it was their desire to show life as it really is.

It is a lesson which Alexander Goldinsky should take to heart.

Goldinsky recently filed a lawsuit in New Jersey. What had happened was this: last year Goldinsky had been working as an independent contractor at a Woodbridge business. Goldinsky was in the store’s break room where he slipped and fell on some ice which was on the floor. Finding himself unable to move, he called for help and was treated at the hospital.  

Now in my father’s day, Mr. Goldinsky would win his lawsuit and those responsible for the slippery floor would be punished and would learn their lesson.

But this is not my father’s day, and Mr. Goldinsky is not going to win his lawsuit. That is because Mr. Goldinsky forgot to notice that the breakroom of the store where he was working had a surveillance camera. The day of the accident that camera saw Goldinsky look around before he threw ice-water on the  floor. The camera also shows Mr. Goldinsky using the counter to gently lower himself to the floor where he waited to be found and rescued.

No, Mr. Goldinsky, found out you can’t fool the camera. He was arrested on Jan. 15 for insurance fraud and theft by deception.

You know, it would be a good thing if humanity learned a lesson from Mr. Goldinsky’s error and realized you  really can’t fool the all-knowing Lord. He Who neither slumbers nor sleeps keeps an eye on His people. That’s how He knew Adam and Eve had eaten from the forbidden tree; Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery and  David had been messing around with Bathsheba.

No, we can’t fool the Lord. 

What we can do is confess our sins rather than cover them up; we can thank the Lord for the forgiveness Jesus has won for us with is life, death and crucifixion and we can try to show our appreciation by living our lives in a way which will glorify our Redeemer.”

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I pray that I may always acknowledge my wrongdoing rather than trying to cover them. Grant me the blood-bought forgiveness which comes  with faith in the Christ. In Jesus’ Name I pray it. Amen.

Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one written by Arden Dier for Newser on February 1, 2019 .  Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: http://www.newser.com/story/270725/the-fraud-mightve-worked-if-not-for-the-camera.html

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html