Choices
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; … Does not he see my ways and number all my steps?” Job 31:1-4
Our eyes will often determine the direction of our lives. When we were first learning to drive and we looked over our shoulder to check for traffic, we would naturally turn the car slightly in that direction. When playing sports, our eyes have a big impact on how we perform. A golfer needs to keep his head down and eyes on the ball; a baseball player needs to keep his eye on the ball and watch it connect with the bat; and a soccer player looks to where he wants to kick the ball. Advertising agencies spend lots of time and money putting images in front of our eyes because we are led by what we see.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light” Matthew 6:22
Judge your mind by your eyes, and judge your character by your feet.
What we see determines what we think about. What we think about determines what we do. What we do determines who we become. It all begins with our eyes. If we spend our time watching promiscuous or aggressive things, we will come to accept those things as normative and then beneficial. If we spend our time looking at God’s Word and memorizing it, that will shape our lives.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).
When we think about the things that are excellent and worthy of praise, we will begin to prioritize those things in our lives. Our actions will follow our thoughts as we form habits that prioritize the things we allow to dwell in our heads. Those habits become embedded in our hearts. “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23). The gateway to our hearts is our minds and the gateway to our minds is our eyes. We guard our eyes to protect our minds; we guard our minds in order to protect our hearts; and we guard our hearts to protect our lives.
I asked God to take away my bad habit; He said, “no, it’s not for Me to take away, it’s for you to give up.”
God wants us to serve Him, but He allows us to choose what we will do with the time He gives us. “... choose this day whom you will serve ... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Serving the Lord is a choice. The way we choose is by controlling what we allow ourselves to see and what we allow ourselves to think about. God gives us the resources to make the right choices, He even gives us His Spirit to help us make the right choices, but we have to make them. When we give up our bad habits, we make space in our life for new, healthy habits.