“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.” Job 31:1

My wife and I were recently at a place with lots of people. Different people. Younger people. You know the place! The place where people dress up to stand out and show off. Out of the corner of my eye, and within my peripheral vision, I caught a glimpse of a potential perpetrator. Looking away, I knew I was safe. Then my wife asked, “did you SEE what SHE was wearing?” Thank the Lord I was able to smile and say, “No dear, I didn’t!”

At 1 point in my life I could not have said that. Transitioning from single to married requires changes. I’ve learned SO MUCH about change… the HARD way! Katie and I BOTH remember the time when we were engaged and my attention was drawn away from HER to a gal I didn’t even know. When I turned around, I realized I was ‘caught caught caught!’ Katie had been staring at me, as I was staring at that ‘someone else.’  The hurt in her eyes was palpable.

One of the greatest spiritual lessons I ever learned came from a movie character played by Clint Eastwood. ‘Dirty Harry’ had a saying, “a man’s GOT to know his limitations!” And oh how true that is. And if you think I am writing about looking at other women…you’d be very wrong!  We ALL have weaknesses and limitations. Some are particular to men, others to women. Young vs old, rich vs poor, there are many areas in a life where ‘limitations’ can make their home. As the years have gone by, I have learned from God that there are OTHER areas of my life where I was convicted to say, “”I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at ___________!”

One of the best ways to get rid of a dirty rat is to not let it in your house in the first place! It DOES take discipline and maintenance. But I have learned (and AM STILL learning) that the time spent THERE saves me from a LOT of time, pain and guilt spent trying to ‘CLEAN UP’ later down the road! Freedom FROM temptation is a LOT more fun than time spent living IN it. Whatever the ‘IT’ may be.

It is good to remember that wherever I go, there I am! But then.. so is HE! God sees and knows and watches what ‘I’ watch, and pays particular attention to ME at the things that I pay particular attention to! And so does satan! Whether I FALL into temptation or not is completely up to MY attention and focus. Whether it is a car, different clothes, a house, an attitude or WHATEVER, it is a good habit for me to remember the covenant of my eyes and heart! What is YOUR _____________________?