"Oh, Be Careful Little Ears"

This post was originally published May 10, 2009.  This is the 2nd "lesson" using the song, "Oh, Be Careful Little Ears" To read other posts from this series, click the label link at the bottom that says "Oh, Be Careful".

Aren't you amazed at what we tolerate sometimes when it comes to what we hear? When you think about the shows we watch on tv or in movies, we sometimes tolerate a lot when it comes to our ears. But, we also hear gossip and complaining and grumbling. We hear filty jokes and cuss words.
In Ephesians 5:4, God makes it very clear how He feels about us listening to these kinds of things: Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
It becomes very clear what we need to listen to and what we don't need to listen to. Sometimes we are guilty of listening to things we shouldn't. I remember teaching a class one time and talking about this subject and an older lady said, “Well that's all that's on. What else is there to watch?” Well, who says we have to watch anything? We do have a choice about whether to watch something or not. Off is a choice, isn't it?
Have you ever thought that maybe the reason there are so many bad tv shows and movies with bad content in them is because Christians go watch them? If all Christians would say no, Hollywood would listen, don't you think? Of course, there would still be many who went to see things like this, but the Christian population is still a big population in America.
What about music? Do you ever get in the car and listen to a song and then realize the words are not good? I've done that about songs from when I was younger. I can't believe some of the songs I listened to, but just never paid attention to them before. Sometimes I don't realize it until I've been singing along with it for a little bit! As my children have gotten older, I really pay attention to the words of the music more and more and think about the message the song is sending.
Last summer (Note: This was the summer of 2008) I took my daughter to a doctor's appointment and a horrible song/music video came on. For you parents of teens, you can probably guess what song that was because later someone told me it caused kind of a stir. I had never heard of the song and my daughter hadn't either, but I did ask (nicely) if the receptionist could change the channel. She told me to change it, which I quickly did.
There is a message music is trying to send to our children. Songwriters and performers know this - that's their job. We need to make sure the message conveys good and wholesome images for our minds and it's something we need to listen to.
Yes, we need to be careful about what we listen to with our ears.

Before the face of God (Remember, "Coram Deo") we listen to songs or hear the content on movies and television.
Oh, be careful little ears what you hear.