Morning
September 21

Job 31:1, 9,11-12 1"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.

9"If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, ...

11For that would have been shameful, a sin to be judged. 12It is a fire that burns to Destruction; it would have uprooted my harvest.


In Job 31 Job began to list the areas in which he had been faithful. His friends seem to have thought there must have been some hidden sin somewhere. Job resisted declaring the specifics of his righteousness up to this point, but since they insisted, he began to list all the areas he had already gone over in his own heart.

The first one that was mentioned is lust. Job recognized the destructiveness of lust and made a covenant with his eyes not to look on a girl lustfully. He recognized it as a fire that burned to Destruction. He had probably witnessed that fire in the lives of young men in the city in which he lived. He learned from their sad stories.

In the world today, there are a million excuses to ignore this wise direction. Even though society considers it wrong to consider women as objects, it sets a double standard in flaunting women's bodies in clothing design, in entertainment, and even in its contests for the best-looking woman of an area. If man had difficulty in the days of Job, when women were covered with robes, what are they to do today? We can do the same as Job. Look into the eyes, the windows of the soul. Refuse to contemplate the person as anything other than an eternal soul that is loved of God. This is as good a plan today for men as it is for women. Don't joke about a desire for the body of another. It is not a laughing matter. It is a fire that burns to Destruction. There are so few that set an example in this area today. It is considered prudish or religious.

Instruction: Set an example for your own sake. Don't become another statistic of the fire that burns to destruction. Make a covenant today with your eyes!