Overcoming the Lust of the Eyes

One scripture that has had a profound impact on my life since I gave my life to Jesus Christ, is 1 John 2:15-17. We read:

1Jn 2:15-17 KJV

(15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

(16)  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

(17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

At the age of about 12 years, my young but curious mind longed to know the heart of the Father and live to please Him. So for a while, after I chanced upon this scripture, I panicked. This was because I had become so accustomed to being dependent on many things of the world to the extent that to me, there was a very thin line between ‘love’ and ‘need’ for those worldly things.

Notice that the scripture mentions three types of temptations that each of us Christians will face at some points in our walk with Christ; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. To me, it meant forsaking my love for worldly things which feed off our lust and daily focusing my energies solely on loving the Father. Let me point out that I have not completely overcome the world but this I do daily, and just as Paul puts it:

Philippians 3:13-14 KJV

(13)  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

(14)  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

The burden to follow the Spirit’s leading in unraveling the mystery behind these three temptations has been strong within the last few weeks. I believe unraveling the mystery provides the basis upon which we can overcome the love of the world. I intend to focus on the lust of the eyes, which I see as central to the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.

Taming the eyes by developing a heavenly mindset

Beloved in Christ, let me point out that the eye, which constitutes the primary organ of perceptions is also more often the main avenue of temptation. I cannot emphasize this enough, but I believe that taming our eyes is central for overcoming the love of the world. In Genesis, we read of how sin first entered the world. Also in the New Testament we read about the first temptation Jesus faced after he completed his forty days of fasting. We read below:

Genesis 3:1-7 KJV

(1)  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

(2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

(3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

(4)  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

(5)  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

(6)  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

(7)  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Matthew 4:8-10 KJV

(8)  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

(9)  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

(10)  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

The key point from the preceding scriptures is that temptation first begins with what we view. Unless our sensory organs functions by transcending physical desires, each one of us are susceptible to becoming victims to the lies of the devil via the lust of the eyes. For your sensory organs to transcend the physical, your focus must be on eternity and not on what is temporary. Beloved in Christ, you need to develop a heavenly mindset, as Paul admonishes the early Christians in Colossians. We read below:

Colossians 3:1-3 KJV

(1)  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

(2)  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

(3)  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Dying to self

I have often come across Christians, who after falling in one sin or the other say one of the following: “I am only human; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak; it is by grace that we have been saved” etc. But let me point out that overcoming these temptations, which is critical if we want to remain in the will of God, involves a lot more than just assuming we are saved by grace. To put it bluntly, it means dying completely to self. Beloved in Christ, the Christian walk is no joke. The following scriptures make clear this point very well:

Matthew 5:29-30 KJV

(29)  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

(30)  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Mark 9:43; 45; & 47 KJV

(43)  And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:…

(45)  And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:….

(47)  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

Cultivating a watchful eye

A very important aspect of taming the eyes involves cultivating watchful eyes. Beloved in Christ, what purpose do your eyes serve as a child of the Most High God? God, in His wisdom, created each one of us with a pair of eyes to guide us in our walk on this earth. Without the ability to see you are only a mere walking shadow, with no specific direction in life. But despite having the ability to see a lot of Christians still end up walking aimlessly in life and end up in what I call life's ditch, with a destroyed destiny and lost hope. As Christians, we need to cultivate a watchful eye while we walk here on earth. Some Christians, by failing to keep a watchful eye, have consciously or unconsciously been led astray landing straight into the devil's territory or ending up with unfulfilled lives. The Bible makes clear that the devil has descended on earth with great fury, knowing well that his time is short:

Rev 12:12 KJV

(12)  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Dear Christian brother/sister reading this right now, you need to remember that we live in perilous times. I want you to stop for a minute and ask yourself this question: What drives my passion in life and how did I get to where I am today? Being driven by the right passion in life (and by the right passion I mean a focus only on Christ) can only lead to the fulfilled life which was purposed for you.

Now, I will conclude by addressing what it means to cultivate a watchful eye. Let's read the following scriptures to get started:

Psa 119:37 KJV

(37)  Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.

Pro 4:25 KJV

(25)  Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Isa 33:15-16 KJV

(15)  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

(16)  He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

Luk 11:34 KJV

(34)  The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

To cultivate a watchful eye, we must covenant with our eyes and not set our eyes on worthless things but focused solely on God. Just as Lot’s wife looked back and was destroyed, we must also purpose in our hearts to have our eyes set on the path of righteousness no matter the cost. When our eyes are focused on anything other than our Lord, we become vulnerable and lose sight of the enormous grace provided to us by our God. In Luke 11:34, we notice that the eye provides the light to the body. But for this to happen our eye must be single, which literally means to have our eyes intently focused on Jesus, who, by the way, is the light of the world. It is only then that the whole body is made to be full of light. Beloved in Christ, let your eyes be focused on Jesus alone because the other “bright lights” of the world will make your body full of darkness, and what great darkness that will be.

Beloved in Christ, by the help of the Holy Spirit, I challenge you to overcome the lust of the eyes and keep your eyes focused solely on the Lord Jesus Christ by developing a heavenly mindset, dying to self, and cultivating a watchful eye. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I am confident we can continue daily to overcome the love of the world and remain in God’s will for our lives.

God bless you!