We’ve all heard the term, “Big Brother is watching over you,” meaning the government, who seems to know our every move lately. Then there is Facebook: another means of keeping watch. Our cell phones track us and our GPS guides us…though not always accurately. Why do we need all these entities and objects keeping watch over us? Do they make us feel safer, or more aware of the dangers around us? How did we ever get along without them, or come to feel we need them in order to function?
As a child, I had my parents whom I knew watched over me…though they didn’t always know what I was doing. As for Big Brothers, I had five of them (and one younger). I knew they always had my back. If I needed their help, they were always there. We’d never heard of a computer, much less anything like Facebook or other social media. We had cameras that took pictures to preserve our memories… and that was amazing to us. If we needed to find a destination, we asked a real person for directions.
Some of us were fortunate enough to have a telephone and others used the ones found in booths along the way…three minutes for a quarter, I think was the going rate…and more if you wanted to talk longer than that. We depended on the police officers and common decency of the people around us to keep us safe. Above all this, we knew that God was in heaven and all was right with the world…our little part of it anyway, and that was all we were aware of at the time.
There’s a line from a song by the Statler Brothers that I always loved because it’s filled with so much truth: Adult eyes can sure surprise a childhood memory. As a child we didn’t notice the danger of playing in the street or running along a railroad track. We weren’t concerned about things like the rope breaking or getting hurt…as long as we got home before dark and Mama had supper ready.
As we grew up and the world changed, we were made aware of the dangers. Most of these threats to our well-being came about because of ‘Big Brother’ government and their need for regulation and personal greed. As I look back with adult eyes and see these changes, I wonder how, as God’s people, did we ever let Him get pushed aside and let the laws of the land…or lack of their enforcement… become more important than His ten commandments? What were the adults doing while we kids played?
Too many of them were busy trying to bring about change. Liberal women were fighting for equal rights, rights that included abortion if they didn’t want or need a child in their life. Rights that took away censorship and allowed filth to be broadcast instead of morals being upheld in the entertainment industry. Along with gaining all these rights, we lost sight of God and the importance of family. As the population grew, so did crime and lawlessness. Drugs and gangs, riots, school shootings all have become every day events in many cities and misguided citizens vote to defund the police. Once again, it is time for change…and we adults must be the ones that bring it about.
Who is watching over you today? Is it the government? Who is keeping track of where you are and what you’re doing? Does your guidance come from a GPS or the internet? If so you need to look higher. God is still in control and watching over His people and His world. We can’t take control of big government by ourselves, but we can be a voice for change by voting the right people into and out of office. We can help choose the people who run our schools and local government.
Our kids and grand kids deserve to live in a country like we grew up in; so they can feel safe knowing that someone has their backs… and especially knowing that God is the answer to all their problems and is always watching over them. Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, allow the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
