And they were watching Him closely, to see if He would heal him (man with withered hand) on the Sabbaths, so that they could accuse Him. – Mark 3:2
The Pharisees watched Jesus closely so they could find something wrong with what He did or said. They wanted to criticize Him. Do you ever feel like that? People are watching you just so they can criticize you? So they can misinterpret what you are doing, so they can say bad things about you and feel better about themselves? Or maybe you have a boss who is a micro-manager. Every tiny thing you do is under scrutiny. How does that make you feel? As humans, sometimes we mess up more when we are being watched. It makes us nervous.
I hate being mico-managed!
What about the flip side? What about people that LOVE you, and are watching your every move because they love you and want to help you? A parent watching a child making cookies, lovingly overseeing the process so that they can assist if needed. A spouse watching closely so they can learn your likes and dislikes, how you like your coffee, your burger, how many scarves you wear when it gets cold outside? What is your favorite color so they can surprise you with a new shirt on your birthday? Think of how a child will say, “Watch what I can do,” before going down a slide at the playground, so that the parent will say, “Good job!”
A premise of quantam physics says that an object is changed when we observe it. What if humans can be effected by people who watch them, for better or for worse?
Could this be why Jesus said, “Judge with righteous judgment,”? (to help, not to harm) John 7:24
Abraham Lincoln said, “He has the right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”
There’s nothing wrong with watching closely. It depends on the motives!
SueAnn Porter 