Ezekiel 8:12
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

Maybe it’s time to stop hiding in the dark and trying to get away with things.  We are foolish if we think God is going to tolerate our sin, and we are even more foolish if we think that we can hide anything from Him.  It’s easy to convince ourselves of that sometimes.  It’s easy to feel like we can fool God as easily as we can fool other people.  It’s easy sometimes to think that darkness and closed doors are a sufficient cloak for all of our evil deeds.  It’s easy to convince ourselves that if we’ve managed to keep something secret from everyone else that that somehow means we won’t have to answer for it.

But God kind of laughs at that attitude, because it really is silly to think God doesn’t know what we’re doing.  It’s just something we try to convince ourselves of so we can keep doing whatever we want.  It’s because deep down we know we’re doing something wrong and we don’t want to get caught.  It’s because the shame of our sin compels us to hide and withdraw.  But there is nowhere we can go in God’s creation to get away from its Creator.  His overarching viewpoint means He is always aware of everything that is happening.

And so when Ezekiel gets this glimpse into the sins of the people that led them into captivity, he gets a glimpse into the heart and mind of everyone who’s chosen to sin against God.  If there’s no one to answer to, our sinful deeds become somehow acceptable to us.  And if we’re convinced enough that God is not looking our way, we’ll indulge in wrong things to our heart’s content.  And surely our true character is on display when we think no one is watching.

Is there anything in our lives that we’re trying to get away with, pretending God doesn’t notice or care about what we are doing?  We may feel like we’re safe to commit these deeds when we’re shrouded in darkness, but God sees right through it.  So let’s be mindful that we have an audience whether anyone else is around or not.  And let’s be careful to avoid falling into the trap of thinking we can get away with things or hide things from God.  Let’s step out of the shadows and into the light and find the freedom that comes from forsaking those works of darkness.