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    Nearly everyone in America is familiar with the show Candid Camera.  The genius of the show is that ordinary people will do just about anything when they think no one else is looking, so they capture those embarrassing moments on hidden cameras to share with the rest of the world.  If you ever watch the show, you’ll find people pretending to be dogs, making fools of their selves for free food and doing other silly things only to be embarrassed when they’re told, “Surprise!  You’re on Candid Camera!”

    We can empathize with those poor people on TV because no one likes to be caught in an embarrassing situation.  Think about the last time you fell in a public place.  If you’re like me, the first thing you did was look around to make sure no one saw you.  That’s just the way we are; we worry so much about what other people think of us.It should not surprise us that we act the same way with our sins.  We know that sin is shameful and, just like we don’t want people to see us fall, we don’t want people to see our sins.  So, we keep them “hidden” and “secret”.  We lock ourselves away in the dark recesses of our homes or go to dimply lit buildings (with no windows) and commit our sins in the “privacy” we have created for ourselves.

    What kinds of shameful things do we do in secret or in small groups of friends?  We give ourselves over to the lusts of the flesh: we gossip, we lie, we cheat, we slander, we lust, we hate, we bite, we devour, we envy, we covet, we commit murder and fornication and adultery in our hearts.  While we may clean up really well, if we examine ourselves (and our pasts) truthfully, the best we can ever be on our own merit is a white-washed tomb (Matthew 23.27).

    When we compare our lives to the absolute moral goodness of God, we ought to shiver at the wrath which we deserve.  God’s goodness demands that we be equally good in order to enter his presence, and this is a glory that every single one of us fails to attain (Romans 3.23).

    The apostle Paul tells us that these things are evident from the creation we see around us, or that “[God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1.19).  In saying that God’s invisible attributes are made plain, Paul is including things like goodness, justice, grace and mercy.  If we are able to see God’s goodness, then we can also know the converse, evil, and see just how far short from the mark of moral perfection we fall.What does this have to do with candid camera? 

    Well, sometimes we forget that God sees everything that we do.  We think that if we are able to sin “alone”, then no one will know about the bad things we do.  Nothing could be further from the truth, “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12.14).

    It is foolish to think that we are able to hide from God.  It is foolish to think that because we are doing something in a dark, secret place that no one is watching, because “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4.13).  How shameful it will be for all of us when we have our deeds exposed on that day.  Were it not for the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, there would not be one person who could stand before the throne of God.

    Let us keep in mind, daily, how painful it will be to have our actions revealed and brought to light, even though we are forgiven.  If there is something sinful and shameful that you would not do in public, in broad daylight, then do not do it at home “alone” in your room at night.  If there is something that you would not do in front of your brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not do it in a dimly lit club with no windows.  (Note:  Stay away from buildings with no windows.  Nothing good ever happens in them.)

    The next time that you are thinking about sinning, remember that your deeds are not done in secret.