“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone...” Eph 2:19-20
Caught You Looking!
Zeke Flores
It’s been hard not to notice some billboards that have popped up around the area over the last couple of months with the header, “Caught you looking!” The signs were put up by an “adult” bookstore hoping to lure in customers. I suspect they won’t have too much difficulty. The sign implies that you’re looking at something naughty so why not do more than look? After all, you did look and that implies you want more. The proliferation of the internet has only increased the availability of sinful images of every type and has made “looking” not only easier, but even more private. No one has to know, right?
Sin is like that. It shines and glistens with appeal and entices us. It’s attractive and beckons us to come, look, touch. The root of the attraction is the fact that it appeals to what is deep down inside of us, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16). After all, we wouldn’t look if we weren’t at least a little interested right? And the fact that the thing is forbidden makes the attraction all the more powerful.
The Bible is brimming with examples of people who looked at sin, then got closer and closer until they were immersed in it. Who can deny that all the characteristics of 1 John 2:16 were present in Eve’s temptation to eat the fruit that God had forbidden? “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Gen 3:6) As the serpent hissed lies, Eve got closer and closer until she went from looking to eating. Remember how Esau came in from the field and sold his birthright for a bowl of stew just because he was hungry (Gen 25:27-34)? That stew must have looked awfully good! Or think about King David who, while other leaders were taking care of business, decided to catch some air outside, and also a few looks at Bathsheba, from his balcony. He looked as she bathed and instead of turning his head in embarrassment, made arrangements to go further, much further (2 Sam 11:1-5). All these paid hefty prices for their attraction to the wrong thing and it weighed on them the rest of their days. Surely, the old adage about sin is right: “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” But it all begins with just one look.
There are precautions we can take that will prevent us from falling headlong into sin. The most obvious thing is to remove temptation from your life. David wrote, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3) and Job said “I have made a covenant with my eyes.” (Job 31:1). The point is, if you’re going to keep from stumbling, do your best to remove stumbling blocks from around you. Do you have a problem with lustful thoughts? Don’t watch movies or read magazines with sexy scenes! Do you react strongly, even violently, to opposition? Stop playing war video games or watching violent shows! Actually, this is good advice for anyone trying to cultivate a more spiritual mindset.The point is, if you don’t look, then you won’t be tempted to go further.
While temptation is always around us in one form or another, we can surround ourselves with an atmosphere more conducive to those desiring to be more godly. Begin with the people you hang out with: “My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me. He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me” (Ps 101:6_7). Then move on to other areas of your life that will enable you to become more and more holy: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Phil 4:8).
While temptation is an ever present thing, at least as long as we occupy this earth, we don’t have to let it overwhelm us so that God will say, “Caught you looking!”
