july 6, 2021 - grocery vlog

   Do you get the feeling that someone is watching you? I had five more minutes left before quitting time. Then this lady with an overflowing grocery cart rolled into my aisle to pay. I figured I could scan her grocery items quickly enough to punch out the time clock. She did not like anyone misplacing her things. She told me that she had everything in its place when she put her groceries away in the bag after scanning. As she placed each food item on the conveyor, she dug into her cart pile to find what was next in line. She was taking her time. As I passed each food item through the scanner, I noticed her subtotal was already over $400. Her cart, on the other hand, was far from being empty. Today is Monday, but my schedule tells me this is my Friday. My work schedule changes weekly. I don’t know what next week’s schedule will be like. I could be working the closing hours and then the opening hours the following day. I suggested that my working days and hours should be consistent each week. But it fell on death ears. At least, I am grateful that I have a job.
   As I placed her scanned groceries on the other side for bagging, I could see that side of the table piled on. There was no more room. So I stopped scanning and watched this lady taking her time. I can understand she may be buying some for her family, her parents, her neighbours. There are a few who do that for others because there are those who fear catching the virus. I don’t hold this against them. I became an online grocery shopper first before I worked as a cashier. I enjoyed it for a short time before I changed to another department. So, I told myself someone must be watching, waiting for the right moment to spring this on me. Does this sound foolish? 
   God is always watching us. Even those who don’t believe in God, He still knows. That is His nature. He cares for His creation. He sees everything. He also records everything because He is The Judge. If you are a baptized believer, don’t think you can sin and get away with it. Don’t think that because God is merciful, you can still obtain heaven status every time you sin. Don’t think you can whisper secrets and scheme against another and still get redemption when Jesus returns. Remember that God records everything for Judgement. The Bible tells us, baptized believers, we are to continue in this new life now that we are free from the bondage of sin. We are not to return to our old way of life. As it says in the book of Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) 
   So you can understand that it is crucial to walk with Christ rather than to strive for the world. God has the final say to where we will end up eternally. All you need is a little humility and a willing heart to believe and follow Christ to set you in motion down the right path. “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16-18, 24-25). 
   Only the careless and foolish Christians think the world is their oyster. They believe baptism has saved them. These people don’t read the Holy Bible, and they only pray when necessary, which is to say at the last minute. Do not doubt God! Do not think that He has forgotten! He can see the lukewarm hearts in this group. But, of course, we need to make a living while we wait for Jesus to return. As Christians, we are not to love money more than God. We cannot lean on our income as the prime giver for life. We exist because God exists. God does not depend on us because He exists before us. Therefore, it is essential to rely on God wholeheartedly and not on bread alone. He wants nothing less from us. So what if someone is watching me? I will not fear because I obey my Lord. “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29) I know my Creator is watching, and I can easily say, “Praise the Lord! Please come. Amen.”