Be Careful Little Eyes

When I was a kid, I always listened to the Christian music that my father played in the car. Until now, I remember some lyrics that I heard from one of the songs then which befits the topic of this post and the song said:

"Oh, be careful little eyes what you see!
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see!
For the Father up above is looking down in love,
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see!"

The message of the song is pretty simple but it uncovers such a profound concept that could actually change our lives for the better.

We know that we perceive the things around us through our senses and through these sensory experiences, we are able to derive observations, inferences, and conclusions that we can use to apply in our lives as theoretical or practical knowledge.

Basically, whatever we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste can have a great impact in the way we live and the environment that we live in can greatly affect our development and our perspectives in life as we grow and mature.

These will make up the foundations of our values, beliefs, and other notions of the natural world around us and of the people we interact with.

In line with this discussion, Psalm 101:3 tells us about David's third vow to he Lord which states:

"I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me."

Basically, David says that he would not pay attention to anything that can make him lose sight of the Lord or look at anything that can make him sin against the Lord.

Of course, the latter part is usually associated with lust or adultery and sexual immorality as Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart." 

David, however, had a brief encounter with temptation when he saw a woman bathing in the moonlight and the moment that he gave his attention to that and he let the thought enter his mind and even inquired about the woman, he had already broken his vow and sinned before God.

Whatever we give our attention to becomes a seed in our mind and our heart; when you nurture that seed, it will grow and bear fruit depending on whether it is good or bad.

If you sow a good seed, you will reap a good harvest, but if it is a bad seed, you will reap rotten fruit and it will cause you destruction.

We know that the good seed comes from God through His Word and by reading and meditation on His Word, He will cause that seed to grow and develop good and strong characteristics in us that would make us more like Him.

However, if instead you reject God's Word and put your attention to sinful things, then it will cause you great distress and could lead to your destruction unless you turn away from it and repent.

So how can we be able to combat sin so that it would not enter our lives? Well, the first thing that you need to do is to surrender your life to Jesus and to ask Him for the forgiveness of your sins and the cleansing of all your unrighteousness then ask Him to pour out His Spirit on you so that He can strengthen you and help you to change and overcome your old, sinful nature.

Now, in the world we live in today, there are many sources around us that can cause you to sin just by simply looking at them or putting your attention on them.

Many television programs and movies have scenes that may transmit certain thoughts in your head and if you do not have a firm and deep relationship with God then you may be prone to let these affect your spiritual walk with God.

Many advertisements and billboards on highways and even on the internet also contain explicit material that can cause you to sin. Know that these things in themselves are not sin but they can tempt you to sin especially if you have dabbled in these matters before and if the sin had a grip on you before.

The best advice I can give is probably to not look at them or to not think about them and do not entertain these thoughts in your mind.

To be able to do this, you need to constantly be filled by the Word of God and you need to meditate on the Bible and let the Word of God fill your mind and your heart. P

Prayer also helps a lot because we need God to help us trample the enemy and to be our rampart against these attacks of the enemy.

Also, in the first place, do not put yourself in a position where you can be tempted that is do not go to certain sites where you know may display inappropriate material or maybe look straight on the road as you drive instead of certain billboards or advertisement campaigns, and perhaps the best is to just close your eyes and think about the Lord and His Word.

Sing Gospel songs if you would like because for me that helps too. In the end, we must always fix our eyes on God and let Him be the center of our lives.

One verse that I would usually utter in my prayer as I ask God for help is Proverbs 4:23 which says:

"Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life."

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you protect your heart or the wellspring of your thoughts so that there may be no sinful thought or any argument that tries to exalt itself against the true knowledge of God.

At the first sign of any thought that tries to enter your mind, we must capture every thought, make it give up, and bring it into captivity into the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We need to bind these thoughts and cast them to God and pray that the Holy Spirit protect you from them.

We need to guard our thoughts and always be aware and conscious of what we set our eyes upon because the object of our thoughts when you constantly meditate or think about it will become part of our speech and words.

The more that we talk about something, we find ourselves doing it and when we repeat an action, it becomes a habit and habits make way for the formation of our character and way of life.

Margaret Thatcher phrased it beautifully and exceptionally portrayed in the film Iron Lady when she said:

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. 

Watch your habits, for they become  your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become."

So I hope that you would be victorious in this area of your life and I hope that you would be able to commit to God and ask to help you stand watch and guard the entrance of your mind, the windows to your soul.

Also, you might find the book Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind by Joyce Meyer as a helpful guide in being able to control your thoughts so that even in your thought life, you would glorify God. God Bless!