When I was a young boy growing up at Atlas Church of Christ, I can remember it being a big deal to get to go into Mrs. Selma Wallace’s Bible Class. I can’t remember what class it was that she taught, but back then, in my eyes, it was “big kids class”. She was a wonderful Bible Class teacher and in just about every class we would sing a few songs before we got into the day’s lesson. One of those songs we sung as children in that class went like this:
“Oh, be careful little eyes what you see, oh be careful little eye what you see. There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, oh be careful little eyes what you see .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. 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.”
As a child, the first two concepts of the song were easy to figure out; watch what I see and watch what I hear. However, the last one was a little more difficult; “where I go”; where was I as a child going to go that the Father would not want me to go? Remember, I was a child. I went to church, nursery school and the occasional K-Mart run; where would I go that the Father would not want me to go? As I grew older of course, I figured out there were several places that I could go that the Father would want me to stay away from. I do believe though, the song really has a deeper meaning; it doesn’t just mean my physical feet, it can also refer to the place I might go in my mind. In Job 34.21, Elihu reminds us of this truth: “For His eyes are on the ways of man, and he sees all of his steps”. It is here that the word “steps” isn’t just referring to where my feet may step, but my “ways”. That refers to my decisions, my choices and my thoughts; and where does that happen… in my mind. Paul says “ …take every thought captive to obey Christ ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). He knows our “steps” or our “ways”, so be careful little thoughts where they go; because there is a Father up above who is fully aware of them. Make sure you take those thoughts captive to obey Jesus.