Allen Dvorak
03/13/09
I remember watching the "Candid Camera" show when I was growing up. Its format was to create unusual situations for average people and then surreptitiously film their reactions. For example, someone might purposefully drop a wad of money out of their pocket in view of another person and that person’s response would be filmed. In many of those situations, people not only did not realize that they were being filmed, but thought that no one was observing their actions. Occasionally people would act pretty goofy when they thought no one was looking.
The Truman Show is a recent movie starring Jim Carrey which adds an additional twist to Candid Camera. In the movie, Carrey plays the role of a man (Truman) whose entire life is being filmed by cameras hidden everywhere. He is being filmed without his knowledge and for the entertainment of the entire nation. Naturally, such a storyline provides opportunity for humor as the nation watches Truman while he acts silly, thinking that he is quite alone.
It is interesting what people will do when they think that absolutely no one is looking. Such moments sometimes reveal facets of our character which we carefully keep hidden from others, even those closest to us. After recently viewing an advertisement trailer for The Truman Show, I began to imagine myself in Truman’s position. What if virtually every moment of my life was open to public scrutiny?
The truth is that every moment of my life IS open to divine scrutiny! The king of Syria in the days of Elisha learned this fact to his consternation.
Whatever plan he made to ambush the forces of Israel, his efforts were anticipated by the Israelite king. Finally the Syrian king assembled his closest associates to try to discover who was "leaking" his military plans.
One of his servants informed him, "None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom" (2 Kings 6:12).
God knows even the secret things of our lives. The writer of Ecclesiates summarized his search regarding what man should do with his life by observing, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Man should obey God because everything in our lives will be brought into judgment.
Paul likewise noted the ability of God to be aware of our entire lives. He wrote to the Romans concerning the final judgment day "when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel" (Romans 2:16). The other side of this coin, however, is that God is not only aware of all of my actions, but He also knows my deepest cares, my hardest personal trials and my private struggles. There is great comfort in knowing that I am never alone.