When Nobody’s Looking
When Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand, he looked around to make sure no one was watching. Ever done something wrong when nobody was watching? We all have! Mark Roberts says he counselled people whose business travel made them vulnerable. ‘An executive found that... away from home, she was inappropriately flirtatious, even though she loved her husband and wanted to remain faithful to him. Another businessman struggled not to watch pornography in hotel rooms even though he was not tempted at home. The internet is full of ethical traps... By using an online chat room, a wife became involved in an emotional relationship with a man who was not her husband. In all of these cases, the sense that “no one was watching” allowed people to sin in ways they would never have done in ordinary, observed life.’ Here’s what you need to realise: (1) God sees you when nobody else does. When you couple that with a desire to please Him and not grieve Him, it makes a difference in how you act. (2) ‘The godly offer good counsel...’ (Psalm 37:30 NLT) If you know you’re vulnerable in a certain area, share it with someone who will pray for you and hold you accountable. There are computer programmes to monitor your Internet activity and send a report to a trusted friend. (3) Avoid situations that give you too much privacy. A lady closed her bank account and opened a joint account with her husband because her spending was out of control. God created you to live in relationship with others, and the more open and honest you are, the less likely you’ll be to stray.