When the Cameras Are Rolling

In movie productions, I can almost hear a producer’s words: “Roll Cameras—Action!”

That’s when actors begin delivering their rehearsed dialogue and performing their choreographed movements.  The cameras capture the action, and the recorded footage is edited at a later time.  When the words, “That’s a wrap!” are heard, everyone returns to their own personalities and who they really are, rather than the characters they portrayed in the movie.

Many times, participants take on a different persona, using scripted dialogue when the cameras are rolling.  For the most part, they aren’t portraying who they are in real life, but rather the characters the writer envisioned when creating the screenplay.

Talk about putting on a façade!

There’s quite a contrast between our public behavior and our real-life personalities when everyone is watching and perhaps scrutinizing our actions.  It’s one thing to act a certain way in front of others, but quite another when nobody is around.

Our actions and words matter, even when no one is watching.  That’s when our true identity, personality, and character become evident.  To me, this act of being someone we really aren’t is much like a screenplay, with actors playing their assigned parts.

I am totally convinced that the God of all creation sees everything.  He knows when we do good, and He knows when we do wrong.  He knows the real us when no one is watching, and He knows the true intent of our hearts when the cameras are rolling, as it were.  We cannot hide who we really are inside from God.

I’m not judging anyone, but those who recognize that their commitment to God has become halfhearted might want to take a closer look at what’s happening in their spiritual lives.  Perhaps they’ve allowed certain “things” to come between themselves and the dedicated life they once desired to live for Him.

Halfhearted service to God may sometimes be attributed to ulterior motives, but I don’t want to open that particular Pandora’s box in this writing.

It’s one thing to perform when the cameras are rolling, but when they are turned off, it’s an entirely different matter.

We might want to ask ourselves, “What kind of person am I when the cameras are rolling, and when they’re not.”

When we stop and honestly evaluate our relationship with God, we may discover that we have allowed our first love to grow cold.  Perhaps it’s time to rekindle that love once again, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

God has given us this assurance in Hebrews 13:5: “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

Our hope for a Christ-filled life begins when we humble ourselves before God, asking Him to forgive us for allowing our hearts to grow cold and for taking those wayward steps away from the One we once held so dear.

Jesus Christ is absolutely our hope of reconciliation with our Father in Heaven, who loves us dearly.  Unlike a movie production, where the cameras eventually stop rolling, God’s eyes never turn away from us.  He sees beyond the character we might portray to others and knows the person we truly are.

Perhaps the most important question isn’t what others see when they’re watching us, but what God sees when no one else is.

The cameras may stop rolling, but God never stops watching.

Written by,

Papa Boyd