“I made a covenant with my eyes.” Job 31:1
Are you thinking about what New Year’s resolutions you want to make this year? Me, either. I’ve never worried about making resolutions at the start of the year because I figure the best time to make resolutions is when I’m motivated to actually keep them. That may or may not coincide with the calendar’s new year. So it’s interesting that this verse recently popped its head into my consciousness at this time of year. Maybe I’ve never really noticed it before because this is actually only half a verse. It goes on to say, “…not to look lustfully at a girl.” But this time, that first half of the sentence has stuck in my mind and I can’t seem to get it out.
What does it mean to make a covenant with our eyes? First, it’s not really with our eyes. It’s actually a covenant made with ourselves and more importantly, with God. It’s promising ourselves and God that we will use our eyes in certain ways and that we won’t use them in certain other ways. Job’s covenant to never look lustfully at a girl is an important one, but there are so many more covenants we could make. Someone recently told me that he made a covenant with his eyes that in the morning, he wouldn’t look at any form of media, social or otherwise, until he had first read scripture. Maybe the covenant we need to make is not just the time of day we look at media, but the amount of time we spend doing so. How much time do we spend staring at our phone screens or our computer screens? What about the time spent in front of the TV? Or looking for more unnecessary stuff to buy? Or spending too much time in our hobbies while other things are left neglected? Then there’s the things we don’t see. Do we see the needy and hurting around us? Are our eyes open to the ministry opportunities God places in our path? Or what about the amazing treasures He leaves just for us? We may not even notice them. Or if we do notice we may take them completely for granted.
I’ve thrown out just a few ideas of what covenant you can make with your eyes. There are many more possibilities. The ones I have listed are not bad in and of themselves but if God is telling you that you need to limit an activity or cut it out completely, I encourage you to listen! I know which ones God is talking to me about. And if He’s the One telling you that a change needs to be made, He’ll help you make it. I’m looking forward to what God will allow me to see once I get the garbage out of my eyes and place my eyes firmly on Him.