Oh, be careful... The simple song came to my mind the other day.
"Oh be careful little eyes what you see.. be careful little ears what you hear.. mouth what you say"
As a small child things that could be of significant damage to my ears and eyes were fairly limited. The radio station that was played on the bus ride to school was probaby the most ungodly thing to assualt my senses. Still, my innocence did not even have the mechanisms to comprehend what was being said. A strong, God given conscience, and two loving parents who taught, guided, and sheltered, protected me from much of the possible pollution of my youngest years.
But today.. today, it is much different.
Oh, be careful.
We live in a digital age. Our brains are just beginning to grapple with the mass of information and content that is avaiable at the click of button, or a simple spoken command. Little devices so often clutched in our hands, contain more words and pictures and videos than the most expansive libraries could contain. It is all just sitting there, waiting to be opened, explored, and interacted with. We have the world at our fingertips.
I speak most specifically to my fellow females.
Oh, be careful.
I am reminded of the women spoken about in second Timothy... silly women.. laden with sins... easily captivated by evil men. And I wonder if this is not a tendancy for us... easily swayed in our emotions.. reading and feeling our way into all manner of things. And, in this day and age, with a greater access to every conversation and persuasion under the sun....
Oh, be careful.
For me, the vast inter-webs are a place I go to most often when I am idle, unwinding, and wanting a break or distraction. Losing myself in pins and profiles, everything else fades away, as I browse about so and so's life, or this recipe, or that decor idea. And, these scrolling sessions are the more inconsequential of distractions. What of all the political opinions, conspiracy theories, causes, and doctrinal persuasions... each sounding more convincing than the next. Algorithms catch on, and platforms begin suggesting more and more content.. leading me deeper and deeper into whatever particular leaning I am curently pursuing.
And it isnt long before, YES, that does makes sense. This person is probably right, I should care about this, I should be passionate about that.
Too easily we can find ourselves completely caught up in things that we read, hear, and see. We enter in a time of rest, with our gaurds down, and fall under the infuence of many different ideas, ideals, and notions before we even realize it. We sit on our chairs like the dumbfounded frog, scrolling mindlessly, as the water is beginning to boil.
And, once I have been "awakened"... surely it is my responsibilty to persuade everyone else under the sound of my voice and influence to be of the same mind.
Share. Spread. Preach. Advocate.
Deeper and deeper and deeper we can go... passion and fear and feeling all intertwined in our pursuit of various truths or lies.
Oh, be careful.
The causes and combinations that can grab us are endless.
Self-love mantras. Geo-Political positions. Child trafficking. Climate Change. Socialism. Marxism. Capitilism. Conspiracy theories. Vaccinations. Black lives matter. All lives matter. Equity. Equality. "Justice". Feminism. Empowerment. Doctrine. Theology.
The people behind all of these pages and persuasions are not ill informed. They know how to convince and impassion. All of them leading with a sense of urgency, as if each issue is THE issue.. and if we dont stand up now, your children... the world... imagine.
If you love Jesus.. you would care about this.
Their words have the accellerant for our emotional flames.
Oh, be careful.
An age of digital accessability must be viewed through eyes and a heart filled with Godly discernment. This is not to say that certain ideas and causes do not matter, but, the response and remedy must be tethered to The Word. Without the guidance of Gods eternal truth, and His word, there is no remedy. Culture and politics and all of men's grandest ideas, do not hold the cure for societies ills. It doesnt really matter what the experts say... what does God say?
The only way we can know what God says is to be students of His word. Read the Bible, the words are alive and living, study them. Return to them day in and day out. The Word has the answers to anything we could ever ask. It may not be the answer that we want to hear, but the Bible stands as correct, and our wills and opinions must bend. We are not afforded the priviledge of picking The Bible apart and lifting verses out of context to fit into our narrative. We must learn to silence our clammering and stammering and say "Yes, Lord." Our families, children, husbands, friends, communities, and souls, will benifit from it.
You want steel for your spine and strength for your days? Read the Bible!
Lets not be carried about with every wind of doctrine and opinion.. lets drop our anchors in The Word of God and stay there.
I have frequently mused on the unknown benifits that bygone believers enjoyed.
Today when we want to understand something... google is our sounding board. Dont understand verse? Google does. Wondering what to think about politcs and current events? Google can help form your opinion! A secular platform shaping so much of society today. Certainly there can be benifits, and access to helpful commentary, but an undecerning eye can fall into any number of unbiblical persuasions.
Let us remember the pattern set before us in scripture and church history. A pattern of faithful men teaching faithful men, and men leading their wives and sons and daughters in the truth. A pattern of older women teaching younger women. A pattern of churches and believers meeting together and rebuking, encouraging, and comforting, daily searching the scriptures. This is the better way.
Now more than ever it is time to return to the only ground that can never be shaken. It's time, by the grace of God, to plant our feet on that solid rock. The causes will come and go, changing and morphing day to day, but He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Men and women void of Christ will always be chasing something to give thier lives meaning, let's run after something different. We won't be loved, and liked, and lauded by this world, but thats not the glory we are seeking. Afterall, unpopular and uncomfortable in the now, are much better than unbiblical in the end.
So, be careful little eyes, little ears, little mouths... your thoughts and words, and searching and scrolling, are not inconsequential. Your children, your friends, an unbelieving world is watching.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
What we consume is going to have an impact.
