Have you ever known someone to only act a certain way when they are around others or when they know that they are being watched? They might only act this way under these circumstances but any other time they act completely different.
Or maybe you have or have had a pet which was always obedient and well behaved while you were with it, but when no one was around they weren’t. One of our dogs was like this. We would generally try to not feed the dogs food that came directly off of our plates because we didn’t want them to steal food that wasn’t theirs, so during lunch or supper they would learn to sit and watch us eat. They might have stared at us longingly for some scraps, but they would not go up to the table and grab the food right off of the plates.
Now, other times we would set some food on a plate and leave it somewhere and leave the room, just to see what they would do. We would go somewhere where we knew that our dog wouldn’t see us, and we would watch. After a short amount of time just laying on the floor staring at the food our dog would slowly creep up to the plate and carefully pick off everything and then lay back down. We would then walk back into the room, stare at the plate, and then back at our dog who would then slowly get up and guiltily walk out of the room, because they knew that they had done something wrong
And there are certain individuals like this who only do things when they are around others who can see their actions, but these types of people were not the Philippian church.
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
The Philippian church was a group of people who were obedient to the Word of God all the time, whether Paul was there or not to watch over them, it didn’t matter. They were people who were self motivated to keep themselves on the straight and narrow path and didn’t need someone to stand over them and tell them how they needed to live and act, and this brought Paul great joy.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
The words steadfast and unmovable mean nearly the same thing, as steadfast means “fixed or unchanging, or firmly loyal or consistent,” while unmovable means “incapable of being emotionally moved or persuaded.” We are called to have those qualities in our faith, so that there will be nothing that can change our faith in Christ, or cause us to do something that is displeasing to the Lord.
When we look at the lives of the apostles and disciples of the Lord we will notice a single theme that they all shared, in that they didn’t need someone watching them to get things done. They didn’t act a certain way while people were watching them, and then as soon as they were by themselves act completely different. They were the same all the time, serving the Lord truthfully and faithfully from their hearts.
Even though others out in the world may not see everything that we do, God certainly does, and it is for Him that we need to live for. All the time, every day. Every hour, every breath that we take, we need to dedicate our lives in service for Him, because in the end it is only Him that we serve. We need to seek the praise of Him, and abide in His teachings at all times, not just when others are watching.
In Christ
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 