Peace in the Chaos: Part 2c - If I am Following Christ, Why Don't I have Peace? - Our Actions
I apologize for the delay in getting this post out. The last few weeks have been especially busy and difficult, but we are muddling through. If you have not been following along I have been doing a series on Peace in the Chaos. You can review Part 1, Part 2a, and Part 2b by clicking on the links. Today we are going to look more closely at how our actions can keep us from experiencing the peace that passes all understanding. (Philippians 4:7)
When I was a very young child going to Sunday School we used to sing a song titled, O Be Careful Little Eyes . If you click on the link it will take you to a cute version by the Cedarmont Kids which adds two extra verses, one about the mind and one about the heart. I am not sure who the original author or composer was, but it has been humming around since before I was a tot in the sixties.
“1
Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see,
Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see.
There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love,
Oh, be careful, little eyes, what you see.
2
Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear,
Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear.
There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love,
Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear.
3
Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say,
Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say.
There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love,
Oh, be careful, little tongue, what you say.
4
Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do,
Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do.
There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love,
Oh, be careful, little hands, what you do.
5
Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go,
Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go.
There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love,
Oh, be careful, little feet, where you go.”
This simplistic little ditty is full of good advice, especially if we are searching for peace. If we took each verse we could find scriptures that reinforce the simple directions being given. What I like about this song, other than the fact that I can remember it from so many decades ago is that it speaks to all the areas that we often use to get into trouble. The Cedarmont Kids version does well to add the heart and the mind as we know those can so often lead us into chaos.
The simple fact is, our choices drive our actions. We all have individual responsibility for what we see, what we do, what we say, what we hear, and where we go. We are also responsible for what we put into our minds and to whom we entrust our hearts. Do bad things happen to people? Yes, but we are still responsible for how we respond. Unfortunately, this is not a popular opinion in our world today. We regularly hear the philosophy of blame.
I thought it would be helpful to use the song as our guide as we look at which actions lead us away from God’s peace and which help to surround us with God’s peace.
O be careful little eyes what you see. Generally speaking seeing something is not necessarily an action. We don’t always have control over what passes through our eye gates. I want to speak to the times when we choose to view things that remove us from the presence of God’s peace. What does God’s word say about what we see?
“25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.”
I included the next two verses, because I believe they are pertinent to our vision. In the book of Proverbs, King Solomon shares his God given wisdom with his son, urging him to listen to his instructions and to embrace and love wisdom. However, we know that this book is pertinent to all believers. It was included in the canon of scripture so we know that the instruction and wisdom it offers is for us as well.
King Solomon was well acquainted with the pull of the world, and I am sure his eyes saw many things that were not designed to give him peace. It is with this knowledge and understanding that he penned these words.
God wants us to keep our eyes on Him; to fix our gaze on Him (Hebrews 12:1-2). He also instructs us to be careful where we step (Psalm 119:101). and to not allow ourselves to stray into evil. It is easy to stray off the straight path. Whether we start with books or movies with explicit sex scenes or dive straight into pornography, we have strayed down a path that will not bring us peace. Excessive use of social media, and becoming desensitized to violence will also not bring us peace.
Be careful little ears what you hear. Ask yourself what am I listening to? What kind of music? What sort of podcasts? Which news media are we letting in through our ear gates? Are the things we listen to making us angry, rebellious, frustrated, lustful, anxious, or discouraged? Those things are not bringing us peace. These actions rarely happen over night. They develop slowly as we let our guard down and begin to listen to things that are not cultivating peace in our lives.
Paul warned Timothy about false teachers, false doctrines and the people who listened to those teachings. This is just as pertinent to us today as it was in Timothy’s time.
“3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. ”
Be careful little tongue what you say. The book of James in the New Testament refers to the tongue as a small fire that can set a forest ablaze (James 3:5). I love this analogy. We all are aware of large areas of forest being burned to the ground by a single ember from a cigarette, a campfire that was unwatched or on a larger scale a fierce lightening strike. What seems small and inconsequential can turn into a raging, and even life threatening situation.
We see in the Scriptures that our tongue can be used for good or for bad. The psalmist describes the tongue of the wicked:
“7 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.”
We are seeing many of these situations in our world today, especially in our country. With the use of social media we now have things like cyber bullying, slander, and piece meal information put together to sway the viewer to whatever “side” is behind the keyboard. The news used to be reliable and unbiased, but I no longer believe that is the case. It seems everyone has an agenda. For me personally this makes me anxious, so I have to close the door on that when I start feeling ill at ease. Do I want to be informed? Yes. Do I want information to take away the peace that God has given me? No. When I start to feel that happen I turn off those voices and go back to His Word and His truth.
I have a choice to use my tongue to praise, worship, encourage, and bring others back to His truth, or I can spew gossip, negativity, and half truths. Which do you think will bring peace?
Photo from Pixabay
Be careful little hands what you do. What sorts of things can we do with our hands that take away our peace? I think many of these areas have cross over. If your hands use your computer to look up things that are not godly; if you hands write or type words or ideas that do not align with God’s will and word; if you use your hands to harm others or if your hands are idle, doing nothing, these are not actions that will bring God’s peace.
“10 “A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”—
11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.”
“16 There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.”
Many verses in the Bible talk about using our hands in praise and worship and in helping others who are struggling.
“O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.”
“So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”
“She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.”
Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay
Be careful little feet where you go. The book of Psalms is full of references to our feet.
“My steps have held fast to Your paths. My feet have not slipped.”
“He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me upon my high places.”
“My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will pluck my feet out of the net.”
God keeps our feet from slipping and as the last verse states “He will pluck our feet out of the net” when we find ourselves in a situation that is hazardous, but in any of these situations it is as we are following Him. If we are wandering off of our own accord and finding our way into places and situations where sin and chaos are unfolding, then God may still keep us safe, but we will not have His peace.
“10 My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait for blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;
13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with spoil;
14 Throw in your lot with us,
We shall all have one purse,”
15 My son, do not walk in the way with them.
Keep your feet from their path,
16 For their feet run to evil
And they hasten to shed blood.
17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any bird;
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.
19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors.”
We have seen in recent months an uptick in protests across our country, not just active protesting, but violent protesting that has resulting in people losing their lives. I believe in the right to protest, but I do not believe it should escalate to the point of violence. I believe our country has made it possible to protest and speak against our government, but I personally feel this should be done within the confines of normal laws.
That being said, I also would add the question, as a believer, how does protesting bring about God’s peace? If in the long term it enables people to be treated more fairly and allows for improvements to our current legal system, then hopefully it is God’s movement leading people to protest. If protesting makes one feel enraged, and filled with hatred then I do not believe this is part of God’s plan. These are just my opinions and I fully expect there will be people who disagree with me and that is okay.
Where are your feet taking you? Are they taking you down paths of peace, or are they leading you into valleys of chaos.
I hope you enjoyed this series. Please leave you thoughts and ideas in the comments section or leave a comment on Facebook. I certainly welcome any ideas you have on peace.
Have a great day!