PURE EYES=PURE HEART

Job 31:1 King James Version (KJV)

 I made a covenant with mine eyes.

The eyes are the gateway to our soul. Job was a man that God had awesome confidence in. One reason for this was the commitment that he had to keep his heart pure toward the Lord by guarding his eyes from the things that would hinder his walk with the Almighty. We would to well to follow Job's example and take a serious look at what we allow to enter into our soul and take the spiritual steps to ensure our heart remains as pure as possible. What does having a covenant with our eyes entail?

First, a convenant requires a sacrifice. For us, we realize that Jesus has already paid the price of our sacrifice and will give us the strength and resolve to walk in His ways. But there is some "sacrifice" on our part. We can't indulge ourselves like men of the world do. We can't allow our lives to be influenced by crude sexual language, by flirtation with the opposite sex, or even veiled insinuations that taint the reputation and spoil the heart of a believer. You may sacrifice friends, sacrifice your "cool factor", or bear the brunt of cruel jokes because you choose not to lower yourself to operate in the flow of the world's immorality. So, yes, to live like Job did with pure eyes requires some sacrifice in our modern world.

Having a covenant with your eyes also means that we should already have our minds made up that we will restrict "what" we look at. According to a ChristiaNet survey, 50 percent of Christian men are addicted to pornography. And it’s not just a “guy-thing;” 20 percent of Christian women are addicted to pornography, and 60 percent of Christian women admitted to significantly struggling with lust. So we can't just expose our eyes to things that snare our soul and cause us to walk in bondage to the desires of our flesh. Seeing creates memories, memories create fantasies, fantasies create obsession, obsession creates opportunity, and opportunity creates action. Action ends in guilt, condemnation, and bondage to our enemy. If our mind is made up that we will not give the devil the opportunity to dirty our minds, not just with porn, but with other things that call out to our flesh, we will be able to more consistently walk in holiness and be free from the shackles of enslavement to sin.

Not only should we discipline "what" we see, we should be sure to allow God to control "how" we see. As an example, a missionary to the red light district of a large city worked everyday with young, pretty prostitutes that to many men would be a temptation. When asked how he could maintain his walk with the Lord in such circumstances, his reply was, "I never look at them THAT way". He saw the through the eyes of a son or brother. His compassion was fueled by "HOW" he saw them. We have to be ruled by the Holy Spirit and He will guide us so that we see others differently. We will look past the physical and to the spiritual needs of those we come in contact with. 

As I have been meditating on this brief but powerful verse, I am challenged to MAKE A COVENANT WITH MY OWN EYES! My heart belongs to Jesus and I can keep that heart pure...so can you. That's what I've been thinking....