Integrity - What do you do when no one is watching?
"God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad" (NLT) Ecclesiastes 12:14
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord" (NLT). Colossians 3:22
As the head of a basic school, one thing that never ceases to amaze me is teachers who pretend to be working when they see you. Sometimes, they are caught unawares fidgeting with their phone, and knowing very well that the conduct is unacceptable, they immediately switch to work mode. Sometimes I walk away smiling, realising the pretentious act. Why will some people do the right thing only when they are watched under keen eyes? It reminds me of a quote I read somewhere: "In God we trust, all others we monitor".
The things we do when no one is watching constitutes our true being. As explained in the previous devotional piece (Integrity), we can have a good reputation out there, but the skeleton in our closet may be horrendous. The kind of things we watch on the internet when no one is watching; the kind of friends we hang around with when we're away from the watchful eyes of our parents; the false testimonies and back biting we trade against each other, etc. Yet out there, we portray ourselves as people of angelic disposition.
A duplicitous life will only bring us to ruin and disgrace. Let us either be hot or cold. God abhors a lukewarm attitude (Revelation 3:16) and we are going to reap exactly we sow (Galatians 6:7).