Have you ever seen the picture of three chimpanzees, each using their hands to cover a different part of their heads? One covers its eyes, one covers its ears, and one covers its mouth. The message is that evil lurks around us. To avoid it we must keep our senses from experiencing evil in a demonstrative manner.
When I was a child, we sang a little song in Sunday School called Oh Be Careful Little Hands What You Do. The other verses spoke of being careful with your eyes, ears and mouth, just like the chimps. The song embedded in children the concept that “the Father up above is looking down…” We wrongly think that God was keeping a list like Santa Claus of who was naughty or nice.
But the song didn’t stop there. It said, “the Father up above is looking down in love.” The reason God can look down on us with such great love is because Jesus experienced every temptation we do. He understands that when we fail to resist those temptations, we hurt ourselves. He loves us through our failures and gives us another chance to move forward in righteousness.
God wants His women to lead lives of purity because of their influence on others. He is excited about every choice we make to guard our doors from evil. In fact, there is a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on right now. (Hebrews 12:1) So why do we find ourselves peeking between the “fingers” that cover our eyes?
Why do we Christian women struggle to hold our tongues from spewing our anger when we have been wronged? Perhaps it is because of what we see and hear.
Experts tell us that we hear about 20,000 to 30,000 words in one day. For many of us, the majority of these words are negative or moot at best. Also, our eyes and ears are exposed to 4,000 – 10,000 ads each day, most targeted at women. And this doesn’t include any negative TV or Internet entertainment. Without trying, we are bombarded with the world’s system at every level. It is no wonder that the 5,000 words we speak each day contain debris from this negative exposure.
The inundation from outside sources doesn’t excuse us from our responsibility to protect the gateways to our hearts. Scripture has powerful words to guide us. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” The first two words, “above all,” deliver this verse’s importance. The words “guard your heart” include setting filters around what we see and hear. Women tend to absorb more than men. This is a good trait when what you see and hear is God-bent, but risky when we receive the world’s tainted views through our senses.
We can check as to how well we are protecting our hearts by analyzing our “wellspring of life.” What thoughts do we entertain? What words spill out of our mouths before we even think? What reactions do we see from our spouse or children or coworkers when they see us or hear us?
God has given women the desire to keep their hearts pure. This is why we can feel guilt so easily when we mess up! Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of how to fulfill this verse.
1. Keep the priority of guarding your heart by reviewing the sources of what you see and hear. What can you eliminate? How can you add scripture or positive resources to your daily life?
2. Filter what you see and hear by not letting negative pictures settle within your mind. Ask God to help you to forget them.
3. When certain temptations multiply their influence, identify and decree scripture over them. If we control what enters our lives, we will experience an acceleration of purity.
4. Ask those around you if they have noticed any habits or behaviors that you need to avoid. Ask someone to help hold you accountable to erase those behaviors and the sources of their power.
Here are some scriptures to keep you on track:
• See no evil – Matthew 6:22,23; “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light…”
• Hear no evil – Mark 4:24,25; “Consider carefully what you hear…”
• Speak no evil – 1 Peter 3:10; “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.”
Woman of God, your purity is your defense against the enemy of your souls. Satan knows that God will influence people around you through your living witness. Enjoy your personal journey as your God is “looking down with love.”
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