What are you looking at?

Today we are going to discuss the "eyes" and how they relate to our spiritual walk with God. The Bible gives us many examples of what we should and should not look at because the eyes are the gateway to a person's heart. Watching violent movies and playing violent video games has been attributed to some of the worse crimes in American history. It is very important that we realize that you can not watch all kinds of junk and still expect to live a life that is pleasing to God. Sin begins with a thought and a thought is triggered by what we see. Matthew 6:22 [Amplified version] says: The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light.

Again there are many examples of what and what not to look at in the Bible. Let's look at one of my favorite biblical people, Peter. As you may know Peter was very bold. His boldness often caused him a lot of trouble but it also proved to be a great asset to him. Let's look at him when he walked on water. The version of this story that we will look at can be found in Matthew 14:28-30
28. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

Everyone else on that ship was freaking out and wanting to leave but Peter wanted to see for himself whether or not the man on the water was really Jesus. He stepped out of the boat in faith and was able to do something that none of the other disciples got a chance to do, walk on water. The problem was that Peter lost his focus by taking his eyes off of Jesus. Peter would have still been walking on water today had he maintained his focus. If we ever want to do the impossible, we have to learn to keep our eyes on Jesus. Many Christian marriages, businesses, churches, and other God-given blessings have been lost simply because we did not keep our eyes on him. Sometimes we get so busy going through the motions of being saved, that we forget about the devotion that we must have in order to really live for him. What are you looking at?

Psalms 119:37 [Amplified version] says: Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity (idols and idolatry); and restore me to vigorous life and health in Your ways. Everyday we should pray for God to help us keep our eyes on him. As I have already stated, sin begins with a thought but our thoughts are triggered by what we see. One can not look at evil things and expect to live a godly life. At one time I was addicted to pornography. I sat around watching that stuff and would eventually end up doing or wanting to do what I saw being done in those videos. Many people think that they are spiritually strong enough to look at any and everything but nothing could be further from the truth. Proverbs 14:12 [Amplified version] says: There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.

Now it would be unfair for me to sit here and tell you what the problem is without providing a solution. I believe that the body of Christ is too busy diagnosing people without helping them get healing...but that's a whole other subject. I have had major problems with what I allowed myself to look at. The moment you take something into yourself that is ungodly, it doesn't end when the TV or the computer goes off. You can be sitting in church singing "Hallelujah" but the next thing you know "BOOM"...a flash back. So we must be very careful because the eye is the light of the body. Your eyes will determine your course of action.

Psalms 131:1-2 [Amplified version]
1. LORD, MY heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty [arrogant]; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me.
2. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting]. These scriptures clearly point out the attitude that we should have towards God. Whether you've had a problem with porn or any other evil things, we have to humble ourselves to God and ask him to help us watch what we're watching. Notice that it says my eyes are not arrogant, in other words I'm not to high to realize that I need God to direct my path. I need him to help strengthen my line of defense. It's not hard to start out turning the channel or choosing another website but over time if you're not careful you could become spiritually lazy. Laziness is the devil's opportunity to implant mischief and evil into your heart that will result in family's being torn apart, businesses being ruined, etc. I believe that a majority of Christian divorces and corporate riffs could be avoided if we simply keep our eyes on the things of God.

In conclusion, understand that no one else can control what you see. You have to know when its time to walk out of the room or what have you. My husband and I visited a Christian friend's house and they were watching something that my husband and I didn't need to see, so we simply got up and walked out of the room. Because of my previous addiction, I could not sit there and watch something that would cause me to go backwards instead of forward. Proverbs 4:25 [Amplified version] says: Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you. What are you looking at? I still struggle with my previous addiction to porn but everyday I have to make a conscious decision to stay away from anything that attempts to take me go back to that sin. It doesn't matter how long a person's been saved, if they are not watching godly things, you have to make a decision to leave. I hope that this post has helped someone.



Remain blessed