The Bible has a lot to say about God seeing, hearing and knowing how we live our life. It is very important for us to recognize that the God that created the heavens, the earth and everything that is in them, is not only all powerful, but knows, sees and hears everything we think, say or do. God even knows the motives behind our thoughts, words, and actions. David told his son Solomon to serve God with a willing mind, because the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind our thoughts (1 Chronicles 28:9). God told Jeremiah, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve” (Jeremiah 17:10).
The Psalmist wrote, “Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does He who implanted the ear not hear? Does He who formed the eye not see? Does He who disciplines nations not punish? Does He who teaches man lack knowledge? (Psalm 94:8-10). The context of these three verses is that the psalmist is asking God to punish the wicked, give them what they deserve, because these evil people are jubilant and arrogant with their words and full of boasting. These evil people are oppressing God’s inheritance, they kill the widow and murder the fatherless and they go around saying, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed” (cf. Psalm 94:1-7).
This is a common thought among unbelievers, and even some professing Christians, that God does not see the evil that they think with their minds, the evil that they do, and that He does not hear all the evil that is spoken with their tongue. Nothing could be further from the truth! The psalmist is saying here that the God that made our ears, eyes and mouth, also hears and sees everything we think, say and do. And I believe that if we could really get this into our minds, then we would give more thought to what we think, say and do.
David wrote, “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them…From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; From His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth—He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do” (Psalm 11:4; 33:13-15). Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?’” (Isaiah 29:15).
It is a serious mistake to think that we can conceal our thoughts, words, actions and motives from God. God has never allowed humans to get away with doing things that hurt other people. God does not like it when men and women take advantage of other people for their own personal gain. It is important that the leaders from every walk of life, spiritual, business and political, should desire to serve all the people. It is important that they serve for the good of others, and not simply to increase their own wealth, power, and honor.
King Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard, but Naboth wouldn’t sell it to him. So Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, worked out a plot to get Naboth killed so that her husband could get the vineyard. So the Lord sent Elijah to tell Ahab that because he murdered a man and seized his property, that in the same place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will also lick up Ahab’s blood! And dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. And all of Ahab’s descendants will all be killed (1 Kings 21:17-25).
This didn’t happen the next day, or even the next year; it was about 16 years later that God did all these things to Ahab, Jezebel and their descendants. It is a mistake to think that God has forgotten, that He doesn’t care, or that He doesn’t have the power to do what He says He will do. All of this happened to Ahab and Jezebel (Read 2 Kings 9-10). Here we have a leader who suffered the consequences of his actions. He had sowed to the wind and he reaped the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7).
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). This is a serious mistake that almost everyone makes. Too often we try to cover up the sins of our loved ones, friends and even business associates, but we can’t hide anything from God. “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—the Lord detests them both” (Proverbs 17:15). The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight, everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” Hebrews 4:13).
When King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then had her husband killed to cover up his sin, he thought he had hidden this from everyone. But God saw what he had done and told Nathan to tell David that the sword will never depart from his house, and out of David’s own household I am going to bring calamity on him. David did his sin in secret, but he suffered the consequences of his sin in broad daylight for everyone to see (2 Samuel 12:10-12). King David suffered for the rest of his life because of his sin. “For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21).
God is listening to every word we say, sees everything we do, and knows our thoughts and motives. If we would get this hard-wired into our brain, then maybe we would stop hurting other people with our words and actions. And maybe, just maybe, we would stop being so judgmental and critical of others, and put more effort into doing good for our fellow human. “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
The eyes of God see all.