Video Conference (Psalms 10:11)

“If you look at this graph, you will see the dramatic difference our treatment intervention resulted for this cohort of patients. We achieved an 80% response rate with complete clearance of the disease after three months in the patients that responded.”

I was participating in an online video conference for my dermatology department. The guest speaker was screen-sharing his laptop computer so we could view his presentation. On the side of my computer screen were live images of several of the audience participants. As I scanned the images, recognizing my residents and fellow faculty members, my eyes were drawn to an unfamiliar young man. He was a medical student who was doing a dermatology elective with our department. At first I thought he was simply nodding in agreement with the points the speaker was making but after a few minutes, the nodding seemed out of sync. No wonder! His eyes kept closing with each nod until his entire head hung forward. Asleep! Toward the middle of the lecture, the student shook himself awake and sheepishly smiled, knowing his slumber was on full display for all the participants.

The problem with conference calls that require video participation, particularly with a smaller group, is everyone is on full display. Unlike a lecture hall where one can hide behind your laptop or a larger person sitting in front of you, there is no hiding. 

As obvious as this may seem, there is no hiding from God. Yet, our ancestors thought they could successfully hide their sins from one another and from God. Adam and Eve attempted to hide from God when they first sinned. King David orchestrated the murder of his trusted warrior, Uriah, to cover his sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. The Bible records many sordid sinful events and the resulting feeble attempts to hide or cover up the event. Like an online video conference, there is no hiding. God is always watching.

The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! 

He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

Psalms 10:11 (NLT)

Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.” But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you…

Psalms 10:13-14 (NLT)

In spite of these admonitions in the Bible, thousands of years later, all of Adam and Eve’s descendants have continued to challenge God, myself included. Why would I think that God is not watching me? My sins are not that bad, after all, I didn’t hurt anyone. What about my friend who has been slandering his boss behind his back? Surely God would be more concerned about those sins than mine?

Regardless of how I feel about my sins, God holds me solely accountable for all of my sins. 

I cannot hide from God. Like the online video conference, all of my faults are on complete display for Him to see. I have sinned against Him alone and I need to always confess my sins and seek true repentance through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. 

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.