Be Careful…

In Sunday School we learned a song that I carry with me today:

Be careful little eyes what you see,

Oh be careful little eyes what you see,

For the Father up above, He is looking down in love,

So be careful little eyes what you see.

The other verses are similar:

Be careful little ears what you hear…

Be careful little hands what you do…

Be careful little feet where you go…

This weekend my thoughts began to focus on the verse of this song that says Be careful little mouth what you say…

We went to a wedding on Saturday. It was a simple wedding and the focus was on Jesus first and the happy couple second. The entire ceremony, including the venue, was designed to be a testimony to many unsaved wedding guests. It was a beautiful, God-honoring wedding and I pray it touched hearts and that some might be saved as a result of the clear message of the Gospel woven throughout the wedding ceremony. The couple was very intentional about what was being spoken to the attendees.

At the wedding, my daughter overheard someone from our church disparaging another member of our church. A critical remark that had no place in any conversation amongst believers. After we talked about how inappropriate and out of place that conversation was, I felt immediate conviction. I had to stop and confess that I have been similarly careless in conversations before. We are ALL guilty of this at times. We have ALL participated in conversations like this and we have ALL overheard conversations like this. This critical spirit is running rampant in our society and it is corrupting our churches. We have to be SO careful about what we say. We have no idea who is listening. We have no idea how many times our words will be repeated to others. We can so quickly usher in a spirit of discouragement through our careless conversations. And we destroy our credibility by the things we choose to talk about - our words betray our hearts. “… For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭34‬ “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭

Aside from preservation of our testimony among unbelievers, we need to be mindful of our attitudes toward our brothers and sisters in Christ and the example we are showing to the younger generation of believers. I have a suggestion. When someone’s habits irritate you, don’t express that irritation to anyone except the Lord. Pray for the person you are frustrated by and pray about your attitude toward that person. Then, find something praiseworthy about that frustrating person and share THAT instead. Maybe even go so far as to send the person a quick note of encouragement. This is how we defeat the critical spirit that Satan has planted among us.

In addition, we have the Holy Spirit living inside us. He sees and hears everything we see, hear and say. A speaker at our church really drove this home one Sunday this summer. What are we exposing the Holy Spirit to at any given moment? Are we grieving Him with our chosen conversations? Are we building each other up as we fellowship with other believers?

We need to guard our hearts and constantly evaluate our own thoughts and attitudes in order to effectively represent Christ.

Be careful little mouth what you say…