Mine Eye Affected Mine Heart
Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city (Lamentations 3:51, KJV)
The prophet Jeremy wrote the book of Lamentations, which is so called because of his weeping over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. He makes a statement above that has some lessons for us. He says his eye affected his heart. That means when he looked at Jerusalem after the Babylonian conquest, his heart was full of sorrow. What lesson do we learn from this? The state of the heart is affected by the eye. The same is true of the ears.
Our physical senses are a gateway to our hearts, especially our eyes and ears. What you see has the potential to disrupt the peace or joy of your heart. The same is true about the words that we hear. Pornography that is ruining the lives many men today is a prime example of the power of sight. A single instance of seeing a woman who is dressed in a sexually provocative manner is enough to kindle a fire of lust in a man that will live with him for years. This is the reason why the dressing of women, and specifically Christian women, matters. Satan is leveraging this power and filling the world with sexual immorality and promiscuity. He knows sights and sounds affect our hearts.
The songs you listen to will change the state of your heart. There might be some of us reading this devotional who are incredibly anxious and fearful, and if you screen what they regularly watch or listen to you, you might find the reason their soul is so restless. If you do not want to be depressed, do not allow your eyes and ears to bring depressive things into your heart. If you do not want to struggle with immoral thoughts, watch what you see and listen to. If you do not want to struggle with thoughts of resentment against someone, do not listen to gossip or slander about them!
It is impossible to eradicate taking in negativity from the world around you completely. However, the major part of it is directly under our control. And most importantly, you can choose not to remove every bad seed immediately it is sown in your heart. Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of proceed the issues of life! ( Prov. 4:23)
MEDITATE
Can you think of something you saw or heard that had a significant impact on your joy or peace recently?
APPLY THE WORD
Our eyes and ears also obey the law of sowing and reaping. Whatever we sow, we ultimately reap the rewards. If you receive words that build joy or watch things that facilitate joy in your heart, you will be a joyful person. On the other hand, if you sow into your hearts seeds from watching negative things, such sexually provocative things, images, movies, etc mentioned above or listening to songs or words that do the same, be sure that you will struggle with lust and all sorts of sexually impure desires. Choose the seeds you allow into your heart. If a bad seed gets sown in for some reason, get it out and do not let it grow to become a tree and produce fruit!
PRAY
We are in the world but not of the world. Pray that the Lord will preserve you in this evil-filed world we live in.
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