Matthew 6:22-23 The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.” 23 “But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness.

In today’s world with smartphones and TVs, very explicit ads and billboards, and just the things we see as we drive down the street; these can all be things we ought not to look at. Our eyes are a gift from the Creator, to enjoy the beauty of His creation and to accomplish things in this life in a much easier way. We all too often take our vision for granted. But our physical eyes can lead us down the wrong path. When we choose to focus our eyes on ungodly things, it causes a domino effect inside of us and puts a distance between us and our Savior. The things we choose to look at affect us more than we think. We may find ourselves revisiting something that we should never have looked at in the first place, and now with all the devices, it makes it that much easier to do it, after all, who sees us? Well, I can tell you, God’s all-seeing eye is with you as you place your gaze on those things that are not good for your mind or soul.

As children we sing the song: “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see, Oh, be careful little ears what you hear, Oh be careful little feet where you go. For the Father up above is looking down in love, Oh be careful little one what you do. This is very good advice that we need to carry into our adult lives. Men struggle more with the visual than women do, as a rule, so as a Christian man, he needs to be vigilant to keep his eyes away from those things that cause him to lust and fill his mind with imagery not fit for a man of God. A woman also needs to be vigilant, maybe we do not struggle with images of the opposite sex, but we can find ourselves fixated on a female comparing ourselves and feeling like we fall short. And when we watch movies or TV, shouldn’t we be aware of the content, and flee from anything that would not be appropriate?

None of these things are good for us. Every time we let an image in our mind in a lustful way we are giving a little bit more of ourselves away. It is too easy to justify our behaviors and think that God understands and just winks at our sins. If you never feel convicted over something you are doing or looking at, you need to check your relationship with Jesus!

We also need to keep our Spiritual eyes fixed on Jesus at all times. The enemy prowls around like a lion seeking who he may devour. News flash! The enemy of your soul knows your weaknesses better than you do, and he is waiting for a moment when he can pounce! No, he cannot steal your salvation, but he can hinder your walk with Jesus and leave you walking around feeling less than and full of guilt.

I would caution parents to be vigilant in making sure they have done everything in their power to make sure their child does not access unclean, filthy things on their devices. I wonder if most parents just assume that their kids won’t. There are children as young as 8 that are hooked on pornography. Does that not worry anyone?

Our pastor said yesterday that as Christians we need to “NEVER TRUST OUR FLESH!” Wow, what excellent advice. Our flesh wants those things contrary to the Spirit, and the more we indulge in looking or doing immoral, ungodly things the easier it gets, and eventually, our conscience is silenced. All of this brakes my heart and is preventable if only we remembered that God is always watching, we are hurting ourselves and those we love.

When will we stand up and be the men and women of God that we are called to be? His word says: “Be ye holy, for I Am Holy.” 1 Peter 1:16
Being holy in part means being separated from this world and all it offers. We don’t have to look for sin, it is usually parading around in front of us; what we need to do is choose to look the other way, to discipline our bodies and minds to say no, not today Satan!

So, in closing why don’t you kneel in repentance and ask the Lord for His forgiveness? You cannot undo what has been done, but you can choose not to do it again. Ask him to fill you fresh and new with his Holy Spirit. Ask for strength to say no to sin. Read His word and let it start filling you once again with His light, and the darkness that has settled in will dissipate before you know it. And if you have hurt someone, be sincere in saying you are sorry. But above all choose Holiness, because we do not know the day or the hour of His return; and we need to be ready, with full lamps.

I want to live my life each day pleasing to the Lord. I want to hear him say to me as I lay down for the night, “well-done child.” I want the favor of God upon me, so I do everything I can to keep my eyes free from things they ought not to see, my ears away from ungodly talk, and my feet pointed toward the cross and away from those things that might cause me to stumble. No, I am far from perfect, but I do treasure a close relationship with the Lord, and I want nothing to hinder my walk.