Be Watchful

“Hey!”, I yelled to the inmate whose right hand was stretched out so hard to get a few more packets of sweeteners. He was one of the diabetics waiting for the LVN’s to come to the window so their sugar level for that morning would be checked one by one. Thinking that there was no one around and not able to see where I was, his right hand just stretched and went for that opportunity to steal some packets of that artificial sugar.

“What’s up Sir? You know the rules here,” as I approached the glass partition window.

“I am so sorry Ma’am,” as his face who would have been bragging to those other ones sitting around if he wasn’t caught, was now red and very embarrassed.

[I knew him. He was an elderly man, always polite. He would be the last person I would think to be able to do that; first, because he was frail and secondly, he would always just patiently wait for his turn without any complaints].

“It’s you?. You could have just asked for some extra ones from the other nurses when you check your sugar level.”

“I don’t know what to say but I’m so sorry,” he replied.

“That’s okay. But we’ve been telling all of you how limited our supply with sweeteners are sometimes. And to be fair, if one gets 2 packets, then the rest gets 2 packets.”

“It won’t happen again, I can promise you that. I’m sorry, Ma’am.”

“I will let you go but you know that if you do it again, you can be punished for stealing. Next time, just ask, okay?”

“Okay, Ma’am. Thank you,” as he walked away from the window and went back to sit down among the rest of the inmates waiting for their accuchecks to be done.

To keep watch over something means guarding it against intruders. This also applies to our hearts or houses. Just as we don’t want a thief to break into our homes when we are away or just sleeping, we will not want the world to end when we are spiritually asleep.

Jesus said, “Watch out! Don’t let Me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep a constant watch. And pray, that if possible, you may escape these horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” [Luke 21: 34-36].

Even if the end of the world doesn’t happen in our lifetime, it will still end when we die. Many believe that even after we die, we still have the chance to get things right with God. But the Bible is very clear about the next step after death: “It is destined that each person dies only once and after that, comes judgment.” –Hebrews 9:27.