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JesusImagine your eyes are video camera lenses. They record everything you see- the details of your changing surroundings. You pan and tilt as you move from one activity to the next, from one place to the next. Some details you don’t even notice. Others you purposely zoom in and focus on. By the end of the day, many of the images and scenes that you captured are those which grieve God. Yet instead of being stored on tape or disk, this footage is stored in your mind and heart. They deeply affect the person who does not resist them. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23) JesusWe are bombarded with extremism for shock value. We are inundated with provocative females, tough guys, flashy extravagance, self-exaltation and outlandishness. They are the substance of television, movies, video games and magazines. As marketing ploys, they effectively attract attention (eyes, minds and hearts). So they are used to sell-products, services and agendas. The sights that daily assault our eyes trap a multitude in futility. The Bible tells us to be, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) JesusJesusJesusJesusSociety is visually absorbed in a twisted reality. The physical standard is JesusJesusJesusset by models and celebrities with restrictive diets, personal trainers and JesusJesusJesuscosmetic surgery. They may starve themselves or use steroids, but the world is JesusJesusJesusnot dissuaded from its fixation. Graphic depictions of death and mayhem profit JesusJesusJesuspurveyors. Viewers watch guiltlessly and enjoy the brief adrenaline rush. JesusJesusJesusNakedness and sexual intimacy are exposed to eager audiences who peer like peeping toms through an open window. Somebody’s personal business is divulged and manipulated in headlines. Readers pry as a vicarious escape from their own lives. A neighbor or passerby touts an expensive status symbol. Another who sees it wants it. We don’t consider these people’s spiritual emptiness or other hidden consequences. Instead, we enable the “lusts of our eyes” (1John 2:16) through a willing detachment from empathy, discernment and reverence. “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22) JesusIt is deceptive and deadly like a flickering lure to a fish. The bait is almost irresistible. Yet Jesus vividly illustrated the seriousness of the situation. “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:29) Why are we so easily engaged? It should break our hearts, turn our stomachs or at least repel our gaze. Jesus“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes…” (Psalm 101:3) Does God approve of everything you watch? Would you look at it if Jesus Christ was there with you? Would you be ashamed or uncomfortable? Would it somehow seem unfitting then? “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (Matthew 5:13) JesusThe world can be a minefield of temptation, difficult to safely maneuver. However, this provides us an ongoing opportunity to live our faith. Our personal purity is at stake. So too is the noticeable Christian witness of one who does not follow suit. “Therefore do not be partakers with them.” (Ephesians 5:17) Some exposure is avoidable. Satellite and cable services can be set to block certain channels. (That is if you watch television.) Furthermore, most other media is easy to evaluate from previews, ads and such. In other situations it is our responsibility to look away or walk away. This may mean changing the channel or leaving the theatre. “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:37) Remember that we can even close our eyes and pray for ourselves and those around us (including the person who is the object of focus). These practices may seem unnatural at first, especially when others continue watching. It becomes easier but not effortless. Moreover, God will strengthen us, use our witness and answer our prayers for others, to His glory. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2Corinthians 4:18) Jesus“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” (Proverbs 4:25) Racehorses run with blinders-small shields that prevent the horses from seeing to their left or right. They are forced to look straight ahead in order to run straight ahead. That way, they will not be distracted from their primary purpose-to win the race. As well, we should focus on our purpose, to serve God without distraction. Keep your eyes on the prize. “A discerning man keeps wisdom in his view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” (Proverbs 17:24) Additional scripture for review: Numbers 15:39 Job 31:1 Psalm 25:15 Titus 2:11-14 1Peter 3:12 |
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