The Surveillance Society

Our scripture today is the 23rd Psalm.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

When my grandson was born, in one of the many conversations I had with my son (his father), we talked about where the baby would sleep and what kind of a setup the parents had for him in their house. The parents wanted the baby to sleep in a separate room, but they were putting a video camera there so they could keep watch over him. My son mentioned that the child would inevitably grow up in a “surveillance society.” 

I think about that occasionally when I hear Biblical phrases such as the one in this famous Psalm about the Lord being a shepherd who watches over his sleep.

If we are trying to live within the Kingdom of God, we too are living in a “surveillance society” – one that is watched over by God, who doesn’t need a video camera. He is always there with us. No matter where I am, God is there. It is one of his consistent promises throughout all of scripture. Just as the parents provide and care for a new infant, the Lord is indeed our all-seeing shepherd, and we shall not want for whatever we truly need.