While walking, the Lord told me that the enemy is bombarding the world with images to influence our souls and spirits. The influence is to lure us to disobey the commandments of the Lord, which hardens our hearts toward Him. We know this intuitively. However, are we pushing this fact out of our consciousness so that we can engage in what we want to see?
What
we see can change our feelings and thoughts, even though the images may be
imaginary. An unsuspecting world has no idea that this exposure is designed to
harden their hearts so that they become perpetual followers of evil.
We
see evil portrayed as good and good portrayed as evil according to the Lord’s
standards. The world suggests that it is okay to pretend to be evil as long as
it is play-play. However, children grow up to adulthood believing it is okay to
continue to play with evil in the real world and not expect any consequences.
For
followers of Jesus, our knowledge of the scriptures reveals what we are
watching is an intentional spiritual attack and not just earthly entertainment
(1 John 2:16-46). The enemy knows that young people look for role models as a
pattern for life; older people look for ways to appear accepted among their
peers. In other words, the general public looks to self-proclaimed authorities
for direction and information about how to live instead of God’s word.
Followers of Jesus must stay aware of this spiritual warfare tactic.
The Eye is the Lamp for
the Body
Jesus
said the eyes are the lamp that brings light into the body. This principle
means that the eyes can let in darkness, as well. Therefore, we must ask, what
are we exposing our bodies to through our eyes?
Luke 11:34-36 [NKJV]
“The lamp of the body is the eye.
Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But
when [your eye] is bad, your body also [is] full of darkness.”
“Therefore take heed that the
light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body [is] full of
light, having no part dark, [the] whole [body] will be full of light, as when
the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
Matthew 6:22b [NKJV]
“… If therefore the light that is
in you is darkness, how great [is] that darkness!”
So, the body will follow what the eye sees. When a lamp is lit, it
illuminates whatever is in a room. A lamp with oil or a switch brings everything
in the room into focus.
Instinctively,
we turn away from anything we do not want to see. We do not like how the
imagery makes us feel inside. When we want to see worldly darkness, it causes
our souls to ignore that deception and hardening of our hearts are taking
place.
It
can take a while to pray off what we experienced and to feel spiritually clean
again. Sometimes, we call this process getting something out of our minds or
erasing bad images out of our minds. The experience gives us an understanding of King David’s repentance prayer when he asked the Lord to blot
out his iniquities, purge him with hyssops, give him a clean heart, and renew a
right spirit within him (Psalm 51:7-11).
What
we watch goes into our souls and entices our flesh to control our thoughts and
to harden our hearts. Paul rightfully wrote that we wage war to control our
imaginations and argumentative thoughts that try to change our minds about the
truth of the Lord’s ways and His desires for us.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6a [NET] (emphasis added)
“For though we live as human
beings, we do not wage war (for our mind) according to human standards, for the
weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for
tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant
obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every
thought captive to make it obey Christ. …”
Jesus
taught the disciples about the power of the eye.
- What we see can cause our whole body to sin and be cast into hell.
Matthew 5:29 [NKJV]
(emphasis added)
“You have heard that it was said
to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that
whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes
you to sin, pluck it out and cast [it] from you; for it is more profitable for
you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into
hell.”
- Our eyes can cause us to be hypocritical. We see a fault in others, even though our flaws are more significant.
Luke 6:42-43 [NKJV]
“And why do you look at the speck
in your brother’s eye but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? Or how can
you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that [is] in your
eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that [is] in your own eye?
Hypocrite! First, remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
Today,
we can watch many forms of media nonstop on our electronic devices. Each generation can name
television shows or internet sites where the entertainment is full of content
that disobeys God’s commandments if you know His commandments.
1
John 2:16-46 exposes what the world consists of:
- Lust of the Flesh
- Lust of the Eyes
- Pride of Life
These
are not from God, our Father, and we should not love them.
1 John 2:17 [NKJV]
“And the world is passing away,
and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Jesus
is the Light for the world. We will never walk in darkness when we follow
His teachings and the guidance of Holy Spirit (John 8:12, 14:26 ). Let our eyes
always be on the Lord’s lovingkindness as we walk in His truth (Psalms 26:3).
As a reminder, Jesus’ return is
closer each day than the day before. Therefore, let us be wise and keep
our lamps full of oil and keep looking up for our redemption is near (Matthew 25:1-13, Luke 21:25-28).
Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath