Body Language: Guard Your Eyes
In week three of our Body Language series, we continued looking at what it means to honor God with our bodies. First Thessalonians 5 reminds us that our spirit, soul, and body all belong to God, and because of that, we should be intentional about how we live. After talking about renewing our minds, this week we focused on our eyes—and the importance of guarding what we allow into our lives.
Jesus said in Matthew 6 that “the eye is the lamp of the body.” Our eyes influence our inner life because they are an access point to our minds. What we see and hear enters our minds, our minds shape our hearts, and what is in our hearts eventually comes out through the way we live. Whatever gets your attention gets your affection. That’s why what we continually look at, listen to, and consume matters.
Genesis 2 and 3 gives us a picture of how easily this can happen. Eve saw the fruit, lingered over it, desired it, and eventually took it. What began with a look became a desire, and that desire led to disobedience and ultimately brought shame, guilt, separation, and death. The progression is simple: a look can become a linger, a linger can become lust, and lust ultimately leads to death.
We may not be able to control everything we see or hear, but we can control what we allow to remain in our hearts. We live in a world filled with things designed to capture our attention. Social media, entertainment, possessions, advertisements, and countless other distractions are constantly competing for our eyes. The enemy knows that if he can capture our attention, he can begin shaping our affections.
That’s why we need a renewed mind and a heart that is focused on God. First Peter 5 reminds us to be alert and sober-minded because our enemy is always looking for an opportunity to deceive and entice us. The battle for our eyes is ultimately a battle for our souls.
So how do we guard our eyes?
First, guard your eyes from worthless things. Psalm 119:37 says, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” We have to intentionally turn our attention away from the ways of the world and toward the ways of God.
Second, guard your eyes from lust. Not everything we see is good for us, and not everything we desire is something we need. What captures our attention can eventually capture our heart, so we need to be intentional about what we allow to influence us.
Third, guard your eyes from greed. Jesus connected the condition of our eyes with what we treasure. Where our treasure is, our heart will be also. The world tells us that more stuff, more success, and more possessions will satisfy us, but Jesus reminds us to store up treasures in heaven.
Ultimately, guarding our eyes is about guarding our hearts and protecting our relationship with God. Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes.” That is an intentional decision to say, I’m going to guard what I look at because I know what I allow into my life will shape who I become.
As we walk through this world, we will encounter plenty of things that compete for our attention. We may not be able to remove the garden, but we can choose where we look and what we allow to remain. May we turn our eyes away from worthless things, away from lust, and away from greed—and fix our eyes on Jesus.
What gets your attention will get your affection. So let’s guard our eyes, honor the temple, and keep our hearts focused on God.
