I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me.

Some of you, by looking at the title, may be hoping that this post is about Rockwell's 1984 top 10 hit song Somebody's Watching Me. 

I'm sorry to disappoint.

Recently, there has been a lot of news concerning the NSA. Even as I write this, I wonder if the mere mention of the NSA has triggered a red flag and, like Rockwell, I will go throughout the rest of my day being watched.

It's a funny thing that we enjoy our privacy and get upset at the notion that someone can see everything that we do. Imagining that someone is looking at us through a surveillance camera or recording every click and keystroke on our computer is just not acceptable and an invasion into our privacy! (Of course this doesn't factor in when we tell the world what we are eating, where we are or what we are doing every second of the day on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter or Instagram.)

Due to the recent news surrounding the NSA and that governments and corporations are watching us more than we imagined, counter technology is springing up everywhere. Encryption software that makes sure only the intended recipient can view it. Secure web browsing platforms so no one knows what sites you visit. Covers that block cameras from reading your license plate numbers. All kinds of technology to keep big brother from watching.

While a lot of people are furious about being watched all the time, we sometimes forget that we have always been watched. Even before the camera, the internet and the microchip, we were being watched. 

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

The Psalmist in Psalms 139 tells of God's all know and all seeing presence. From the very beginning of our personal existence:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

And until the end of our days:

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Maybe we don't like the government or other humans seeing what we do, but if we strive to live a pure life we shouldn't worry about what others see. Instead we can begin to live life as we were intended to, a life that everyone should see. Like it says in Matthew 5:14-17:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.