I have been giving some thought to Beth’s comment after my article, “Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear.” This children’s song provides a wealth of subject matter for our consideration.

The word “care” means caution and watchfulness. So the words, “be careful”, tells us that we need to be cautious about the things that come into our vision. Just give that a little thought as we look at some examples from scripture

The first one that comes to my mind is Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3, Satan paid Eve a visit. He and Eve had a conversation about what God had commanded concerning what could be eaten that was in the Garden. Satan knew, as did Eve, that the tree in the middle of the garden was forbidden. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from the tree or even touch it (verse 3). There was absolutely no misunderstanding on the part of Eve that it was forbidden. The punishment was death.

First, Satan lied to Eve. He said, “Ye shall not surely die” (verse 4). Second, he appealed to her pride when he said, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (verse 5).

Eve took a good look and “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise” (verse 6). She just couldn’t resist what she saw.

The second person that comes to mind is Lot, the nephew of Abraham. In Genesis 13 there was a problem between the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot. Abraham didn’t want conflict with his relative, so he offered Lot first choice of all the land he saw, and Lot chose the plain of Jordan. This land was well watered and was much like the land of Egypt.

Verse 13 says, “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.” There is no way Lot could not see the wickedness of these cities. We know that is true because of his reaction when the angels went to destroy those cities in chapter 19.

Do you remember Samson, one of the judges of Israel? His parents wanted him to marry a woman from among the Israelite people. Samson had other ideas. “And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up and told his father and his mother, and said, ‘I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife” (Judges 14 1-2). He saw her, and he wanted her for his wife. He saw, and he wanted!

King David is a story familiar to most of us. II Samuel 11 is the story of David’s sins of adultery and murder. Verse 2 tells us all we need to know about this tragic story, “And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house; and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.” He saw, and he wanted.

In Luke 12, there is a story of a man whose land had produced an unusually good crop. He looked at the bounty of his crops and then at his barns, and he saw that his barns were not large enough to hold everything. This was the solution to his problem, “I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods” (verse 18). This selfish man saw all the blessings of his labors, but he couldn’t see the needs of those around him.

Acts 5 gives us another example of the need to be careful what we see. In the last verses of chapter 4, Luke reveals that the Christians brought various possessions to the apostles to help support those who were in need. Ananias and Sapphira saw this, and they also sold a piece of land. They brought the money to the apostles, but they kept back part of the money and lied about what they received for the land. They saw a chance to receive some recognition, but their eyes were bigger than their hearts.

In Acts 7, we read the story of Stephen, a man stoned because he preached the truth. As the people removed their outer coats and took up rocks to throw at Stephen, they laid those coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. This young man saw the persecution the people inflicted on this Christian, and “he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3).

In Matthew 4, Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The devil tempted Jesus by showing Him stones and trying to get this man, hungry from having been without food for forty days, to turn these stones to bread.

He took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tried to get him to jump off. He even quoted scripture to tempt Jesus to comply.

Lastly, the devil took Him to a high mountain and offered Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would just fall down and worship him. Jesus rebuked the devil and for the third time answered him with scripture.

This wasn’t the last time the devil tempted Jesus. Just like he continued to tempt our Lord, he tempts us every day. He tempts us with things that appeal to our eyes, the same way he tempted each of our examples.

So, be careful little eyes what you see. What you see may be your path to destruction.

Sandra Oliver