How to Resist SinSample

The eye: a gate to the heart

The eye is like a gate because what comes in the eyes makes its way into the heart. We often read the passage of Matthew 5:28 with male eyes: “Anyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed sin against her in his heart.” We think this only applies to males.

Jesus spoke figuratively, not literally, so the message is for all of us, not just males. Jesus teaches that the battle is in the heart and the mind, extending to all sin. He just gave one example to point us to the inner nature of sin. Is sin just committing physical adultery? No, it is looking at a woman with sinful intentions in our heart. Jesus’ single example helps us see how His teaching applies to all matters. 

In Genesis, we find Satan tempted the woman with three avenues. She saw the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and she first saw it as good for food. Then, she saw it as attractive to her eyes. Finally, she saw it as a means to become wise. 

1 John 2:15–16 teaches us, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” 

We find these three avenues of temptation have never changed. What is attractive to us physically and visually: the woman saw it was good for food and pleasing to the eyes—the lust of the flesh and eyes. She saw that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom—the boastful pride of life. Those are the avenues of temptation that human beings are still dealing with to this day. 

We want to be careful about what we take into our eyes because now we know sin begins with these three avenues. Jesus said it’d be better to lose a member of our bodies than for our soul to perish in hell. We want to be cautious that we don’t exalt physical satisfaction to a place that is more important than the well-being of our soul.

We want to be careful with anything that would exalt us and diminish God. We want to hear and keep the Word of God, which will exalt God and humble us. As we practice that carefulness, we’re putting to death the deeds of the body and putting to death the things that dishonor God. We are doing battle with the sin in our lives.

This devotional was based on an episode of the Straight Truth Podcast. Consider subscribing to the Straight Truth Podcast YouTube Channel.   We release new episodes every Thursday.