You know down here in the south we use the phrase "be careful" all the time. As a friend is leaving your house part your goodbye includes "Drive safe, be careful!" Earlier this year on American Idol a young man was auditioning and as they rejected him he waved to the judges and said "Ya'll have a good day and be careful!" One of the judges jumped up and said "What do you mean by that? Are you threatening us?!" There was a big to do about it all and eventually the producers of the show issued a public apology saying the judges being from California and all did not know that "be careful" was a friendly southern term.
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Well, I beg to differ on the thought that "be careful" is simply a "southern term." Did you know that the phrase "be careful" or "carefully" is used in the Bible approximately 117 times? That is my own personal calculation so please don't quote me on that. But, I would feel pretty confident in saying that is a good number.
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In Leviticus 18:4 we are told "You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God." Well, if that ain't a big ole do as I said because I told you so then I don't know what else is! God is our heavenly Father who is telling us that we better follow his laws and we better be careful and if we are silly enough to ask why he answers with I am the Lord your God (simply put....because I said so!).
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So, the next time we are wrestling with a sin, we must remember that our Heavenly Father is standing in front of us, shaking his finger saying "Child, what am I going to do with you? You stop that right this minute!" and then when we feel guilty and our heads are hung down low he'll wrap his arms around us and say "My child, I love you and I forgive you!"
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