There is a world of difference between being careful and being full of care.
Being careful is being responsible, alert, prudent and watchful. It positively says, “Why worry when you can pray?”
Being full of care is being anxious, fretful, worried, and restless in the mind and spirit. It pessimistically says, “Why pray when you can worry?”
We are instructed in the Bible not to be full of care, but we are also instructed to be careful.
We may see someone working on a steeply sloped metal roof on a rainy day and holler, “Hey! Are you crazy!? You better climb down from there before you fall down from there! And be careful!”
We may be planning a road trip, and caring friends and family may say, “Have a good time but be careful and be safe!”
If I’m carrying a coffee cup that is overfilled, Marlene will say sometimes, “Be a little careful or you will spill coffee on the carpet.”
In fifth grade, during recess, I was wandering around the playground at school acting like I had good sense, when I happened to venture into the tetherball area and got one right smack on the side of my head. A girl standing by said, too late to prevent the clobber, “Be Caraful!”
There are greater needs and greater issues of life which necessitate being careful. The most careful thing you can do is to listen to God as He speaks to us through His inspired writers, in this instance, Solomon.
Solomon said, “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:20-27 (NASB)..
Being careful to guard our hearts is a critical matter and we can do so following the counsel of this wise man.
To Guard Your Heart:
I. BE CAREFUL TO WALK IN TRUTH:
A. Listen again to Solomon, “Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you.”
1. I can still hear my dad saying, “I hate a liar! If I don’t want to tell you something, I’ll say, ‘It’s none of your business!’ but I won’t lie to you.”
2. And woe to any of his children who got caught in a lie.
B. God is a God of truth! God’s nature is truth! God also hates untruth!
1. “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal faithfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22 (NASB).
2. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” Romans 1:18 (NASB).
3. “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:25 (NASB).
C. Be careful!
1. Be careful to be Truthful in actions.
a. Live by truth, match walk with talk, performance with profession.
b. Keep your promises.
c. Give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay and, conversely, give a full day’s pay for a full day’s work.
2. Be careful to be Truthful in self-assessment.
a. Admit to yourself your weakness and inadequacy.
b. Recognize your sin and don’t deny it.
3. Be careful to be Truthful in speech.
a. Unlike the father who told his son, “If you tell lies, a big purple monster with yellow teeth will come from the moon and take you away. Now you’ll tell the truth from now on, won’t you?”
b. Speak the truth, but speak truth in love. Unlike Lucy who said to Charlie Brown, “Are you willing to take some friendly criticism, Charlie Brown?” He said, “Why, of course! I’m not above that sort of thing at all! A little friendly criticism can be helpful to a person. What was it you wanted to say?” She said, “Well, you are kind of stupid.” that’s not speaking the thruth in love.
D. Be sure of this; one day all untruth will be exposed. Let me illustrate. The story is told of four high school boys who couldn't resist the temptation to skip morning classes. Each had been smitten with a bad case of spring fever. After lunch they showed up at school and reported to the teacher that their car had a flat tire. Much to their relief, she smiled and said, "Well, you missed a quiz this morning, so take your seats and get out a pencil and paper." Still smiling, she waited as they settled down and got ready for her questions.
Then she said, "First question--which tire was flat?" Busted! Think about it. The darkness of a lie will never stand when the light of truth shines on it.
To Guard Your Heart, walk in truth:
II. BE CAREFUL TO WALK IN THE RIGHT PATH:
A. Solomon said, “Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established.”
B. The right path is the one Jesus walked:
1. The path of light which suggests truth, purity, goodness and godliness.
2. The path of love which led Him from heaven as a Prince to earth as a pauper.
3. The path of obedience as He totally did the will of the Father.
4. The path of the cross where He bled and died for our sins.
C. Heed the Psalmist who wrote: “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2 (NASB). On which path are you walking?
D. A preacher, Dr. Harris spoke one day at the state penitentiary. He was introduced to the prisoners by one of the inmates. In his introduction, the inmate said, “I want to tell you a story about two boys. They lived in the same neighborhood. They went to the same school. They played together. They went to the same church.
One of the boys decided he would be smart, so he rebelled against his parents, quit going to church, did what he wanted to do instead of what was right. The other boy continued to go to church and do what was right and treat other people with love. These two boys are now grown men and both of them are here today.
The boy who continued down the right path and remained faithful to the things he had been taught – this boy is the great minister who is going to preach to us today. The other boy who decided to be so smart and rebelled is the prisoner who introduces the preacher to you today.” Two boys. Same neighborhood. Same school. Same church. Yet two diverse destinations. Choices have consequences.
To Guard Your Heart, walk in the right path:
III. BE CAREFUL TO WALK AWAY FROM EVIL:
A. Solomon said, “Turn your foot from evil.”
1. The word “Evil”
a. Does not always mean wickedness or sinfulness. Evil is sometimes used in reference to some catastrophe or calamity.
b. Can refer to malevolence that does harm to others.
c. Refers to anything which divides us from, and makes us diobedient to, God.
d. Is that which is sinful and wrong.
2. Turning from evil is all about repentance: an about face from evil; a change of mind that issues in a change of life and behavior.
B. Evil in all forms is sure to come. So be proactive and develop a standard of morals, ethics and behavior so when temptation to do evil comes, you don’t have to debate it, you say, “Nope! I have already settled that issue. Others may, I may not!”
C. We need the pre-established commitment to God that
1. Kept Joseph pure when his master’s wife sought to tempt him into adultery.
2. Kept Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faithful when they were tossed into fiery furnace for refusing to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol.
D. A man I read about illustrates turning from evil. He was overweight and underactive. Every day he bought 2 dozen doughnuts for the employees at break time. He ate 3 or 4 doughnuts every morning. Some mornings he would pork away 6 or more. But, being warned by his doctor, one day he decided to diet and he quit bringing doughnuts, which diminished his popularity. He even changed his route to work so he didn’t pass the doughnut shop.
But one day he really wanted some doughnuts, so he reasoned, “I’ll drive by the doughnut shop and if God wants me to have some doughnuts, I’ll find a parking place right in front of the shop.” And he did — after driving around the block 5 times. He made the mistake of creating an opportunity for failing. He subsequently had to renew his desire and his plan to turn his feet from the doughnut shop, which for him was an evil.
Fathers, and all the rest, we must guard our hearts by TURNING FROM EVIL, walking in truth thereby walking the right path.
Should you like to begin to do that, to be a person of truth and integrity or, if you need to turn from some evil and to jump-start your walk with Jesus, or to become a member of CCC, come to the front to let us know that as we sing. If you need more information about that give me a note on one of the cards in the pews or on the form in the song sheet. STAND AS WE SING CHANGE MY HEART.
