WHEN OUR HEART WALK AFTER OUR EYES
" If my step has turned out of the way, and my heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot has cleaved to mine hands;" (JOB 31:7)
Can the heart walk after the eyes? OR Can the eye misled the heart? That's the question that comes across your mind, when you see this topic. The heart should be in charge, not the eyes. Why the other way round?
The Father of all Lights (James 1:17) will enlighten our hearts and give us more understanding.
THE EYE GATE
We take in all the beauty of God’s creation through the eye gate. From the mountains to the oceans, the stars to the shining sun. Our amazing God is revealed to us by what we see all around us in His amazing creation. The eyes are also the gate through which we can read the words of God. Therefore, the eyes are of great importance.
It is also the primary gate that Satan uses to transmit his lies and deceptions. The “lust of the eyes” is one of the three categories of sins that have been controlling us ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (Shari Abbott, "Reasons for Hope Jesus").
It is an inlet to sin, especially to the sin of uncleanness. Lust enters at that window. The eye feeds greedily upon wanton objects, and there the fire usually begins to kindle which inflames first and at last consumes the whole man. King Solomon counsels, "do not look upon the wine when it is red, when it gives his color in the cup" (Proverbs 23:31).
When our eyes are ensnared and caught by any unlawful object, it is being transferred to our heart for final approval. The heart follows the eyes when we do what is before us , either right or wrong, just or unjust.
The eye misled our heart, when we see a beautiful creature of God and adore it to sin against God; when we see a beautiful lady and couldn't see the glory of God in her beauty rather we lust after her. If we are not very careful to watch over and keep our hearts, our eyes will seduce and master them. The looks and casts of the eye strike fire upon the heart, and that like tinder is quickly set on fire. The eye is no sooner affected, but the heart is inflamed , and then presently sin is perfected, unless grace of God comes to our rescue.
The eye is an importunate suitor to the heart. It is our duty to know when we ought to give way to, and when to deny that which the eye sues for.
DOES THE EYE HAVE CONTROL OVER THE HEART?
The heart controls the major functions of the body and our body systems report there. Also, Sin is originally in the heart, it dwells there , it is rooted there (Romans 7:17) but the eye allures the heart and occasions it into sin. What the eye sees, stirs the heart to sin.
The seed of all sin is in the heart, but it lies there until the the sight of the eye, or the hearing of the ear draws it out. This object stirs up wantonness, covetousness, revenge and other sinful acts. If the heart were not vain, what the eye sees would not engage us after vanity.
1. Christ was tempted by the eye, the Devil took him up and showed him" one view of all the glory of the world" but because the prince of this world found nothing in Him, the sight of all this world could do nothing upon him; Jesus' heart did not walk after His eyes to sin, because His heart was altogether clean from sin.
"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; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 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. (Matthew 4:9-10)
2. The Devil ensnared eve's heart, else her heart had not followed her eye, nor given her leave to taste that tree.
"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." (Genesis 3:6)
So then sin is originally in the heart, but occasionally from the eye; if there were no sin in the heart, there would be no hurt taken at the eye; but the heart being sinful, every vain sight of the eye endangers it to sin, by awakening those lusts which lie close and are as it were dormant there.
SINS THAT MAKES THE EYE MISLED THE HEART
There are 4 special sins to which the eye does misled the heart.
1. WANTONNESS
Careless use of our eyes will misled our heart and put us in trouble. Job made a covenant with his eyes so that he won't think upon a maid (Job 31:5). Jesus Christ had no sooner said that " whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.(Matthew 5:28) but He immediately adds this counsel that "if your right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell."(Matthew 5:29).
To pluck out the right eye, and cast it away is to mortify the lusts of the flesh through the spirit, by the exercise of our faith upon the cross or death and sufferings of our Lord Jesus. When carnal concupiscence (lust) is thus killed and cast out, the right eye is plucked out and the eye shall no more offend us.
2. PROUD LOOK
"These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (Proverbs 6:16-17)
A man with haughty eyes looks down upon others in a condescending way, when he think more highly of himself than he should. Looking scornfully, disdainfully, or almost arrogantly at others. (trends buzzer article)
Our eyes misled our heart to be proud and makes himself superior to others, he look upon others more than the cause of an action and will make him to pervert justice. We make God to be angry because He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24 )
”Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)
3. COVETOUSNESS
The eye misled the heart to covetousness and covetous practices. Thus Achan confessed, " "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it." (Joshua 7:21)
Here it is a progressive sin, Achan's eye provoked him to covet, his covetousness provoked him first to take, and secondly to use the best means he could to keep those forbidden spoils.
The sight of the eye blows up covetous desires into our hearts (Ecclesiastes 5:11).
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes (Covetousness), and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world".(1 John 2:16).
4. IDOLATRY
Idolatry, the worship of something other than God, is at the root of all sin because sin seeks to steal glory from God, to whom alone it is due, and take it for the sinner.(Ref - thegospelcoalition)
Idolatry is more than bowing down before a physical idol. It is, as we have seen, any worship outside of God, like inanimate objects, animals, our wealth, natural elements.(Steven R. Cook, D.Min).
The eye ensnares the heart to Idolatry. The Lord prepared an object for the Israelites, which they should fix and busy their eyes with, a fringe in the border of their garment, so that they can remember al the commandments of the Lord and do them, that the may not seek after their own heart nor upon their own eyes, which may lead them do a whoring sin (Numbers 15:38-39).
Their eyes are said to go whoring because their eyes carried their heart off from the true God, to join themselves with idols , which was spiritual whoredom and fornication.
CONCLUSION
When David prayed, "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanities" (Psalm 119:37), he shows how apt the eyes are to lead the heart to all these vanities.
"For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:(Matthew 15:19). The heart is that unclean fountain out of which these filthy streams issue continually.
The eye cannot sin alone, both the eye and the heart have their share and act their several parts in sin.
The natural man's heart walk after his eyes. As the servant should follow the master, not the master following the servant, so the heart should not follow the eye. Sin has inverted this order; and therefore no sooner does a corrupt eye see anything that is vain, but the heart is stirred up to lust after it.
There are many things in the world worthy to be seen, as the beauty and symmetry of the body of man, great monuments and natural resources, the lustre of precious stones(gold, silver), the order and ornaments of heavens, yet our heart should not walk after any of them nor should they take us off from God at any moment. All our senses should be kept holy and clean. As soon as we look upon any creature, the glory of God should appear to us in it, and we should be led by it to honor Him, and be wholly inflamed with His love; the sight of our eyes should help us to adore God's goodness.
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.(2 Corinthians 4:18), things visible are not the chief mark in our eyes, they are not our aim and scope. We look further, we look higher, our heart do not walk after things that are seen but are at once fixed upon and moving after invisibles, that is , we walk not by sight but by faith, which is the great spiritual difference among men; most walk by sight, few by faith.
Where the eye is full of adultery, the heart is full of it too; and once the eye and heart are taken, the man cannot hold out against the assaults of lust. "Having eyes full of Adultery and that cannot cease from sin" (2 Peter 2:14).
Remember, it is more dangerous to slip with the eye than with the foot, broken bones are easier set than a broken conscience.
Watch your eyes and heart with great diligence. Guard your eyes lest they ensnare your heart. Look to your hearts , lest they be ensnared by your eyes.
PRAYER
Heavenly father, Kindly deliver me from vain looks, wanton glances of my eyes, and all forms of covetousness so that my eyes will not mislead my heart, rather it will glorify you, and be useful for the advancement of the kingdom of God on earth.
Keep a watch upon my eyes, guard my eye and do not let it slip. Please help me to pluck the eyes that offend me in Jesus name I have prayed, Amen.
"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.(Ecclesiastes 11: 9)
WORK CITED
1. EXPOSITION OF JOB with practical observation by JOSEPH CARYL
James Dina
jodina5@gmail.com
25th June 2021
https://www.blessministries.org/james-dina
