Wednesday, May 02, 2007

I Am Watching You

I am watching you.  I notice how you take care of your home.  I see how you treat people there.  I even saw you that day you had a little talk with the garbage man.

I am your neighbor, and I am watching you.

I am watching you, but you don’t know me.  I visited your church a couple times, and your face stood out to me, so now I recognize you.  At the church I saw you worshipping God.  Now how will you behave when you come here?  I wonder. 

I am a nameless store worker, and I am watching you.

I am watching you, though I mostly just hear things through the family grape vine.  And let me tell you, I am listening closely.  No, I don’t believe everything I hear, but I am paying attention.  Will you turn out to be the kind of person you say you are?

I am a distant family member, and I am watching you.

I am watching you, and I’m sure you know it.  I see you on your best days and your worst days.  I see you when you feel good and when you don’t.  And let me tell you one particular thing.  I always pay special attention to how you handle certain dreaded phone calls.  We all get those calls, but when you get them, you probably don’t realize it, but I am always tuned in to what you say and how you treat them.

I am your coworker, and I am watching you.

I am watching you, and you have no idea, because I don’t even live near you, but I used to.  You might say I’m following you from afar.  You know what I’m checking on?  Your career moves.  How do you make your decisions?  Why do you do what you do?  I am very curious, because we are the same age and I am making similar decisions.  I am looking for someone to sort of follow, to pattern myself after.  You are helping to set a pace for me.

I am your former classmate, and I am watching you.

I am watching you, and I’ve seen you change over time, though I don’t think you’ve even noticed.  You probably aren’t really keeping track, and I’m sure you don’t think I am, but you’re wrong.  I never talk about it, but I am tracking you and the changes I’ve seen in your life over time.  Someday I might talk to you about it, but right now I’m just curiously watching the direction your life is taking.

I am your close friend, and I am watching you.

I am watching you, and I’ve seen you come a long way.  There have been a lot of childish mistakes and you’ve matured up to a certain level.  But here you are, and I wonder what you are going to do now with your life.  I am older, and you probably don’t think your decisions affect me, but they do.  Though I am your elder, I must say when I see you take a stand and do the right thing, it inspires me to do the same.  Don’t doubt it for a second, what you decide to do has a big impact on me.

I helped raise you, and I am watching you.

I am watching you, even though I was only part of your life for a few months.  I tried to instill knowledge and yes, even some values during our time together.  To be honest, you missed a lot of what I tried to send your way.  But I know that over time these lessons have a funny way of coming back.  What kind of person will you become?  Will all my hard work pay off?

I was your teacher, and I am watching you.

First Timothy 4:12 says, “…set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

We must set a good example in every way, because whether we realize it or not, people are watching.

(As heard on Wave 94.1 FM)

dougapple@wave94.com

www.wave94.com

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