BIG BROTHER

We all looked forward with great anticipation to the day when someone is no longer looking over our shoulder.  The first two decades of our life our parents or guardians were peering over our shoulder.  And then there was the community filled with believers in "It Takes A Village"!  Even when out of Momma's eyesight, a town filled with tattle tales stood ready and waiting for even the smallest infraction.  Recently my cousin told me of calling Momma about my younger brother's speedy driving.  I laughed because the grumpy old man at the gas station told the same tale on me.


Photo Credit-Daily Mall

It seems we move from this monitoring of our every breath to a boss who demands accountability of every second at work.  Accounting is a billable hours driven occupation.  Multiple time sheets were required--one for the payroll department and one for the billing department.  It never ceased to puzzle me how you were supposed to make every hour of your day billable to a client.  For some reason I found it difficult to bill a client for the 15 minute coffee and bathroom break.


Then there were the work papers for client engagements which had to be reviewed and signed off on for the project.  Boss person was always watching over your shoulder and expecting timely and correct results.  His approval was required on each engagement.


Life seems to be filled with others looking over our shoulder and scrutinizing all we have done.  The IRS and Social Security Service are examples of governmental scrutiny of our work lives.  You do not want to get cross ways with either of these two bureaucracies.

The intrusion into my life has reached an apex with computers and I Phones.  If I dare to scan a site looking for a new adventure, within moments an ad will pop up on Facebook of the site I was perusing.  Dare I look at new underwear to order knowing scantily clad women in their undergarments will be on my Facebook page when I thoughtlessly click on it to show the grands something?  Perhaps the most intrusive is the I phone who knows my habits and patterns.  When I get in my car at 7:30 AM, it tells me the time it will take to get to the grands' home and how the traffic is.  It knows I am on a run for school drop off. On Tuesday nights, it tells me how long it will take to get to the shelter and the best route based upon the traffic.  When I leave to go tutor, it does the same.  My phone has learned my patterns and is more than happy to give me directions to where I need to be.  If I dare to head to Austin or Ruston, as soon as I get to a certain point early in the trip, it starts giving me a traffic update.  Am I the only one who finds this a little alarming?



It seems Orson Welles's BIG BROTHER in 1984 was not science fiction after all.  We have chips in our phones and our pets who identify them and where they are.  Who is to say we won't be next?  Why thinking it over, it would be an easy sale for Alzheimer's patients.  Then who is next?  Already our medical records and prescription medications are accessible across the WWW to other medical professionals (OF COURSE--with permission).  WHO is to say this cannot be hacked--although why anyone would want this information is beyond me!  We have finally reached the point where the WWW may well be an instrument of The Beast referred to in The Word.  Far fetched---loony tunes---maybe, but maybe not.


Here is my bottom line--my take away---as long as I am living my life righteously--what does it matter if some computer knows I am going to the Shelter?  As long as I am living the truth, what difference does it make if others know my comings and goings.  As long as I am looking at G sites on the computer, so what if those annoying ads pop up?  NOT to say I am perfect--BUT I am trying to live as He has instructed!  And YES--He is getting calls from some nosy angel updating Him on my backsliding!

There is One who knows ALL our comings and goings, what we say or write--even what we think.  There is One we who knows ALL the truth about us--there is no hiding place beyond His vision or hearing.  He knows it all!    Not our Big Brother, but our Heavenly Father is truly watching over us.

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
Luke 12:2-3

8 comments

  1. You're so right. We are being watched all the time. As long as your cell-phone is ON it is sending a signal of your every movements. There is an App which, as you are walking down the High Street and you are passing a certain shop the phone texts you and says: "There's a 10% reduction on blouses at this shop today!" Or whatever other advert the shop has placed on the App. As you walk the streets the shops' computers notice you passing and send texts to entice you in.

    By the way. What is a G site?

    You've given me an idea to peruse underwears to order so that I too can get scantilly dressed adverts!

    Seriously though. Computers, cars, cell-phones ... are all checking on us all the time. They say the UK has more cameras in shops, malls, motorways etc ... than anywhere else in the world.

    Pretty soon we will all be chipped at birth. A little chip at the back of the neck. When you go shopping, at the check out, all you have to do is lean forwards and the cashier will read the chip on your neck with her electronic reader and your bank account will be debited with your purchases. The chip on one's neck will track all our movements. That should stop some married people cheating on their spouses. Which is good I suppose. The bad thing is that the mother-in-law will be able to track me and become a REAL pain in the neck.

    God bless.

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    1. G is General - a rating used by the entertainment industry meaning this is appropriate for all audiences - including children . When I finally visit England , the MIL is on my list of things to see! I'll bet she is a sweet old lady loved by all!
      Blessings, My Friend!

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  2. Oh boy...another great post...one wonders, friend, do you lay awake at night thinking of these posts, giggling. Have a beautiful day.

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    1. They pop in my head at the most random times. I am a stream of loose association!
      Blessings!!

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  3. Great post. Funny how our parents always knew everything we did...even without cellphones.

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    1. When you are raised in towns the size of Farmerville & Bernice, they had LOTS of eyes and ears helping them!
      Ble, My Friend!

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  4. Lots of thought-provoking questions, much to ponder here today, Lulu. There's no easy answers for the ever-present technology is here to stay ...

    You've shared some wisdom and hope on this looming subject. Now ... WWJD?

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    1. I go about my daily business with a chuckle--if someone is spending time monitoring me--they are bored to tears!
      Blessings, My Friend!

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!