When No One Was Looking

She licked the butter.  Her grandma had stepped out of the kitchen for a moment and was talking on the telephone.  The beautiful golden stick was just sitting there, it looked so delicious and buttery and smooth.  The little girl could not help herself, she licked it again. It didn’t taste as good as it looked, so just for good measure, she licked it a third time.

Her grandma walked back into the kitchen not noticing the butter as much as the little girl’s guilty expression.  The grandma asked her what she was up to.  The little girl was sure that no one was looking and so if she lied … it wouldn’t really matter anyway.  “Nothing grandma,” she said batting her long eyelashes, her eyes big and seemingly innocent.

I was this little girl.

I remember Grandma sitting down at the old tin-trimmed table, pulling the butter dish close and looking at me with love in her eyes.  She said, “Lindsey.  I want you to listen to me and remember what I am going to say.  The things you do when no one is looking will be the most important things.  And I want you to remember something else, Someone is always watching.”

Proverbs 5:21 says:

For The Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.

He is with us in all our moments … waiting for someone to do the right things when no one else is watching.  You want to know why? It is because what we do in private is what and who we really are.  It is when no one is watching that we should remember … He is watching.

Be different.  Do honorable things, not for recognition, but for the sake of character and integrity.  Nothing we do is done is secret.

And for Pete’s sake, don’t lick the butter!