Georgia lived in Georgia for almost 100 years, and for 80 years of her life, Georgia was the Sunday School secretary at the same church in Georgia.

But nobody dared call her by her first name alone — her seniority, combined with her feisty personality, demanded that she be called “Mrs. Georgia.”

One person who seemed to get into the cross-hairs of Mrs. Georgia’s feistiness was Deacon Glenn. Once, the deacon and the pastor had to go see Mrs. Georgia and ask her to stop telling guests at church, “Get up, you’re in my seat.” She didn’t say that too much anymore — after they talked to her about it the second time.

One Christmas, Glenn and some other church members went caroling door-to-door. They knocked on Mrs. Georgia’s door, she opened, and they began to sing. Mrs. Georgia noticed that Deacon Glenn had his head down, reading “Silent Night” from a songbook. She didn’t say “thank you” or “Merry Christmas.” Instead, she curtly remarked, “Glenn, if you don’t know the words to these songs by now, you need to quit singing.”

Deacon Glenn didn’t let Mrs. Georgia’s bark bother him; he knew there was no bite. He even sat in front of her in church all the time. One Sunday night, he sat in the pew right in front of her. After the sermon, Mrs. Georgia blurted out, “Glenn, the next time you sit in front of me, you get in one spot and stay there. I fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes the preacher was looking right at me.”

Which reminds me — if you’re going to be bossy and feisty in church, watch out. Not only may the preacher be watching you, but the Lord may be watching you, too. As Proverbs 15:3 (NIV) says, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” What does the Lord see when He sees you?

(Copyright 2010 by Bob Rogers. Email: brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read this column each Friday for a mix of religion and humor. For more “Holy Humor,” go to the Web page of First Baptist Church of Rincon at www.fbcrincon.com.)