As Little Dexter grew, he discovered he could get away with all sorts of things. He pulled his first heist at the age of five, absconding with a piece of bubble gum from the grocery store. The following week, Dexter swiped a whole handful. When Dexter was nine, he and his friends stole cap pistols from the toy store in the mall. This time he got caught. The angry store owner called Dexter's father, who immediately left his office to pick Dexter up. He flicked on his radar detector as he pulled onto the highway. Dexter's father was furious. As they got into the car together, he said, "If I ever catch you doing anything like this again, I'll ground you for an entire month!" Dexter thought to himself, That's okay. I'll just make sure I'm never caught again.

During an exam in today's typical classroom, the teacher would be a fool to leave for an extended period of time because the teacher cannot trust the students to refrain from cheating. He cannot assume that they will be honest because Little Dexters fear man, but they don't fear God.

Consider what happens when no one is present to enforce law and order in a town evacuated because of an approaching hurricane. Looters thrive, stripping stores and homes of their valuables as their greed reaches a fever pitch. All because no one is watching--or so they think.

Perhaps you've heard the term, "the perfect crime"--a crime executed so skillfully that the perpetrator cannot be detected. There is no such thing! The person who coined this phrase was obviously unaware of the One to whom we must give account. God's eyes see all things, and He cannot be deceived.

The fear of God leads to truthfulness--even when people aren't looking. Why lie, if God is the One who tests your heart? What's the use? You are certainly not going to pull the wool over His eyes. (Even if you could, He can see through wool anyway.)

Few are stupid enough to think they can fool God. Most dishonest people don't try to fool Him; they simply fail to consider Him. The fear of man's judgment has displaced the fear of God's judgment.