Lust of the Eyes
You desire what you can see, what you can feel, what you can touch and what you can smell. I think the eyes is the most quickest and powerful way that transmits the object of your desire to your heart. The eyes enjoy seeing the beauty of the world.
The devil wanted to divert Jesus from his mission by arrogantly declaring, “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it to you if you will worship me”. What arrogance! What lies! The intent was that Jesus would see this beautiful world and lusting after the glory would then bow. In Genesis chapter 3, after the devil had weaved his lies, Eve saw that the tree was beautiful and it's fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too and thus sin entered the world.
I see, I like and I want. The desire for the things we can see. There is nothing wrong with natural desire, after all God said He will grant us the desires of our heart (Ps 37:4). When a desire becomes a lust, it becomes an ungodly desire. The lust of the eyes gives birth to the lust of the flesh. When everything we see is what we desire, it becomes greed (excessive desire to acquire or possess more than one need) and could lead to covetousness. These sort of desire is evil in the sight of God.
The devil will entice you with ‘seemingly’ beautiful things that you see with your eyes and desire in your heart. This is where the temptation comes in, once you desire something and you want it, how you get it would then be where one is led into sin and subsequently one’s fellowship with Christ is broken. We see devil tell Jesus (Luke 4:7), “I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” If you are willing to enter into a partnership with the devil, your relationship with God is severed.
This is the goal of the devil and his demons; to break our fellowship with God. He knows God protects those who are righteous and they can’t be touched by him. However this protection is cut off once sin enters.
When getting what we see and desire will make us sin, it is better to let go. Jesus’ response is very clear, ‘You must worship the Lord your God, only Him shall you serve’. It’s not everything that the eyes perceive is beautiful that we must have. We will have what is in line with God’s purpose and plan for our life. God is the one that holds all the riches of this world in His hand. He is more than able to give you your heart’s desire. We don’t need to seek anyone else. Jesus Christ was very certain about his purpose on earth and would not be detracted by the worldly things or the worldly status that comes with it.
If we are struggling with lust of the eyes, Jesus Christ taught us that it is better to enter eternal life with only one eyes than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell (Mathew 18:9). It sounds so harsh, but hell would be even harsher. A less drastic action could be to learn how to keep our eyes and mind focused on things of God. It is possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. This helps us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. The devil will continue to use any channel of weakness to tempt us and we must cut off this channel before we are cut off from our Source, Jesus. God has already given us the grace against all evil desires (James 4:6).
If you do not have a relationship with God by giving your life in Jesus, none of this will work for you. These would only work for you if you have already given your life to Jesus Christ and you are living a holy life under the direction of the Holy Spirit. If you have not done so, I ask that you reconsider. You are missing out on so many wonderful promises of a victorious, joyful and peaceful life in this world and the promise of eternity with Christ.
If you would like to give your life to Jesus, just repeat this prayer; ‘Father I come to you as a sinner, I confess I am a sinner, I believe that Your Son Jesus Christ came into the world and died for my sins. I ask that from this moment forward you come into my life and be my Lord and Saviour. Where you lead I will follow. Direct my paths from henceforth and help me to grow in you all the days of my life. Amen’
If you prayed this prayer, I encourage you to go to a bible teaching church as directed by the Holy Spirit and continue to pray for God to help you to grow spiritually. I would like to pray with you so write to me adeola@we-can-leadershipinstitute.com
SHALOM
Adeola Akintoye
Copyright: the use of this article should be done with due copyright and ascribing all glory to Almighty God
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