Oh Be Careful...

Some of us grew up with the kid’s song:

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.

Is what we do really that important? Is God only concerned about our hearts and our actions don’t matter much to Him? Being careful about what we do is vital spiritual advice for kids AND adults.

Jesus said that we will know people by “their fruits” (Matt 7:16-20). We can’t always know what people are thinking or what is in their hearts, but their actions can show it. For example, Jesus said, “…out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Lk 6:45). In other words, “A good man out of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matt 12:34). This can be expanded to all evil actions: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt 15:19). What we do is important because evil actions are wrong, but also because it demonstrates the evil in our hearts.

We demonstrate our faith (or faithlessness) by our “works” (actions – Jam 2:18). Some “…profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work” (Tit 1:16). This is why we do self-examination and welcome teaching, correction and advice from others.

Titus 3:8: “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”

Because there’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, so, be careful, little hands what you do!  dd