What You're Looking at: Guarding Your Eyes in a World of Distractions
In a world filled with visual temptations, what we choose to look at has profound effects on our spiritual and emotional well-being. Our eyes are not just windows through which we see the world—they're portals that allow things to enter our hearts and minds.
How Do Our Eyes Affect Our Spiritual Life?
Your eyes are powerful. They don't just allow you to see out; they allow things to come in. They are portals that impact your heart, mind, emotions, and actions. This is why it's crucial to be mindful of what you watch and consume visually.
What you look at can become what you desire. Many times, the enemy uses our eyes as an entryway into our spirit. If you're walking around in fear, it might be because you've been watching scary movies. If you're struggling with lustful thoughts, it could be because you've been looking at inappropriate content.
Scripture confirms this in Matthew 6:22-23: "Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is."
How Can We Guard Our Eyes and Win This Battle?
1. See Beyond What You See
Don't be so captivated with the external that you neglect to inspect the internal. For example, if someone tries to pursue you knowing you're in a relationship, see it for what it really is—a spiritual attack against your relationship, not a compliment.
You have to see past the external and recognize spiritual attacks for what they are. It's not cute or flattering; it's an attack designed to destroy you.
2. See Yourself Correctly
In Genesis 3:5, the serpent told Eve that if she ate the fruit, she would be like God. Yet Genesis 1:27 tells us she was already created in God's image. The enemy offered her a counterfeit of something she already possessed.
When you don't see yourself correctly, you'll fall for the enemy's lies. He'll make something else look more appealing because you don't recognize the value of what you already have.
3. See It How God Sees It
Some things look good to us but look ugly to God. Some things appeal to our fleshly eyes but destroy our spiritual eyes. Our prayer should be, "God, open the eyes of my heart because I want to see you."
Psalm 119:37 says, "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things." These "worthless things" are worldly distractions and temptations that lead us away from God and don't benefit our spirit.
Life Application
The battle for your eyes is real, but you can overcome it. If you've been struggling with looking at things you shouldn't—whether it's pornography, inappropriate content, or anything that feeds negative thoughts—know that God can deliver you.
But deliverance requires your participation. God will give you the strength to make a choice, but you must choose to turn away from what's destructive. As Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." God wants to shift your view to see things as He sees them.