Transparency

I find in every culture that there is a natural desire to control what others think of a given situation and those involved.  It is as if we believe we are in a movie script where we are the directors and audience members only sees what we want or need them to see.  It is incredible how manipulative our desires play out.  Our doubts never come to the surface except when it serves our purposes.  Our fears only serve to emphasize our point of view.  Our frustration, anger, and even need for revenge repaints the facts so that anything that differs from our desired scenario somehow magically reshapes itself into a heaven or hell of our design. 
It's odd how long we think we can live in our worlds of imagination.  For many it is a lifetime!  For others it is a strange rollercoaster of in an out, awake and dreamland, connected and something else.  This disconnect transcends culture, economic standing, and every other demographic differentiator I can imagine.
The God I know looks at life differently.  This God sees life in all it colors; good, bad, pretty, ugly, and some we cannot even imagine.  God is far less concerned with how we desire to live and much more concerned about how we really live.  This concern does not trigger a process of judgment.  Rather, God sees what is and responds in ultimate statements of love, compassion, and mercy. 
God's response is often confusing.  I think my window dressing matters, while God looks for transparency.  I think my rhetoric, stories, and posture make a difference while God is looking at how my walk tells the real story of my heart.
On one day gone by, “those whose lives honored God got together and talked it over.  God saw what they were doing and listened in.  A book was opened in God's presence and minutes were taken of the meeting, with the names of the God-fearers written down, all the names of those who honored God's name.”  (Malachi 3.16)
That was then; it can be now.