If a Christian man can’t go to the beach without gazing at women’s bodies, then he shouldn’t go to the beach.
The same principle applies to Christian women, as well, regarding those young men with sculpted muscles and toned legs.
What did Paul write to Timothy? “Flee youthful lusts…”
I rarely go to the beach. Not for the above reason, though. I simply would much rather be IN the water swimming or scuba diving or ON the water boating rather than being by the water on the beach.
Many people struggle with the lust thing, though.
It is a real challenge because there are so many attractive people and there are so many unfulfilled people — not a good mix when it comes to being in the same place.
Hmmm…. this fertile soil for sinful thoughts — and perhaps subsequent actions — could exist anywhere, couldn’t it?
And skin doesn’t have to be showing for the mind to cross the line of morality.
For people who live in cold climates, waterfront gazing opportunities occur less frequently than in Florida where sand and surf and sun are in abundance.
Yet, do not men and women in colder climates also struggle with lustful thoughts in the workplace or college campuses or shopping malls or even grocery store aisles?
Places where people are completely dressed?
Yes.
The presence of clothing — sometimes multiple layers of it — is no barrier to the pondering and pandering of the mind.
Consider this passage written nearly 4,000 years ago in a land where women were covered almost completely from head to toe with multiple layers of fabric:
“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a virgin. For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? Does he not see my ways and count my every step?” (Job 31:1-4)
We know that Job was the most righteous man on earth in his day, said by scholars to be around the time of Abraham.
He was married and had been the father of adult daughters. He knew that he had no business gazing lustfully at other women and he promised to honor God with his eyes.
And yet, because Job determined that he had to declare a promise to God in order to draw the line on looking, this must have been a real struggle for him at some point.
It’s a promise that every Christian adult should make.
Look, we’ve all failed at some point with respect to this verse. Hopefully we’re not failing now.
Disaster awaits us in this life and the next if we don’t bring our eyes under subjection to the holiness of God.
Why? Because the eyes are the window to the soul and we don’t need to be letting Satan pour poisoned “eye candy” into our souls.
God is watching you and me and counting our steps. Let’s make sure that our heritage is holy, not dishonorable.
As always, I love you
Martin
