“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” (Psalm 119:37, ESV)
Have you’ve ever gone shopping for one small item but came home with an armload of things you just couldn’t resist? It happens — more than we want to admit.
For a friend of mine, it was shoes. She had boxes of them in her closet, many never worn. She just couldn’t resist pretty shoes. Another friend loved shopping for clothes. Then she hid those items in the back of her closet for a month or two. If her husband questioned an item, she could declare, “Oh, no. I’ve had this for a long time.”
Stores know how to display items in a way to draw our attention and entice us to buy them. Unfortunately, many of us cannot resist the temptation and go home with more “stuff” and less money.
AN OLD TACTIC
It’s a tactic the devil has been using since he enticed Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Allow the person to see something that seems very desirable and then wait for them to take the bait. Eve desired what she saw and ate the fruit. But Eve wasn’t the only one to fall for this trick.
- Achan, whose story is told in Joshua 7, saw a beautiful garment, some silver shekels, and a wedge of gold. He saw them, wanted them, and took them. His desire for these forbidden items not only affected him and his family but also the entire camp of Israel.
- When an angel pulled Lot and his family out of wicked Sodom, Lot’s wife allowed her eyes to look back at all she was leaving behind. That was a fatal mistake. She turned to a pillar of salt. (Read Genesis 19.)
- King David saw a beautiful woman from his rooftop and allowed lust to lead him to sin. He then had his friend murdered in battle and took his wife. (Read II Samuel 11.)
Each of these took the bait dangled before them. They saw it. They wanted it. They reached for it.
TEMPTED BUT NOT TRAPPED
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, one of those temptations was visual. The devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world to entice Him.
“And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” (Luke 4:5, ESV)
Although the enticement was spread before Him, Jesus did not give in to the temptation. Instead, He rejected it with Scripture. He did not allow Himself to be lured by what He saw. He refused Satan’s bait.
THREE TYPES OF TEMPTATION
According to I John 2:16, there are three ways in which we become tempted:
- Desires of the flesh—earthly pleasures that pull us away from God’s presence.
- Desires of the eyes—coveting what we see.
- Pride of life—an attitude of self-sufficiency and conceit.
“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” (ESV)
None of these things come from God. They are a trap.
PROTECTING OUR INTEGRITY
Job knew the importance of living carefully and deliberately to protect his integrity. One of those ways was by controlling the things he saw.
“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman . . . Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take? . . . Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity. If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen. . . .” (Job 31:1-7, NLT)
Job knew that our eyes can lead us places we never intended to go. That’s why it’s so important that we guard our eyes. The devil will put his most glittery enticements before us, making them seem like just the thing we need in our life. Don’t take the bait. Never let your heart lust for the things your eyes have seen.
Matthew 6:22 promises, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (ESV).
PERSONAL REFLECTION
- What is the connection between what we see and what our heart desires?
- How can you protect yourself from the three types of temptation?
- Are there things in your home that may lead to ungodly desires?
Devotion by Mary Loudermilk
