Someone’s Always Watching

Someone’s Always Watching

   “Every breath you take / Every move you make…I’ll be watching you.” This classic from Sting and The Police popped into my head with the idea that “someone’s always watching.” For example…

   Monday at work, a customer asked me, “So, how did you do in the Polar Dash?” I must’ve had a confused look on my face. I was thinking, How does this gentleman know that I ran in the Polar Dash? I never told him…We’re not friends on Facebook…

   He went on to explain: he had seen me and my friends when we stopped at the Caribou Coffee on 35E and Hwy. 96. It’s tradition for me and my running friends to get some coffee or tea after a race…And, besides the Caribou I work at, I like this store…And, the manager at this location is pretty awesome. :)

   Anyways, this customer was there! He saw us in our “penguin attire” and put 2 & 2 together. He had also run in the race. I never saw him that day at Caribou, but then, how often do we pay attention to who might be sitting in a Caribou or a restaurant when we walk in? We go about our business, and then go about our day.

   I read the “Coffee with Jesus” cartoons that Radio Free Babylon posts on Facebook…Ironically (or, maybe not-so ironically), this one posted yesterday:

 

   So, someone is always watching…How do we act if we know we are being watched versus not being watched? If we are Christians, do our mouth and actions reflect one another? Are we “walking the talk,” so to speak? Are we loving our neighbors as ourselves? Are we most focused on us than on God? Others? Yes, we do need to take care of ourselves, but as one of my textbooks for the new semester says, “humans are created for development, relationship, and integration” (Carla Dahl, Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation, page 4).

   And, are we noticing “the other,” as we walk into the world? We carry the light of Christ into a world in need. Maybe we do need to take a “closer look”…People have been posting lately about a story that I used in a devotion at a church meeting a few months ago…Here goes:

“A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"

   What are we missing? Do we realize when we are being watched by others? Are we watching out for others? May we all remember the words from Isaiah (43:1-2, 4, NRSV), God offering words of comfort and assurance to us:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you…

Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you…”

   Look what love can do…God loves us, encourages us, is with us in ALL times…May we do that for one another today. Thanks be to God. :)