Eye Covenant

"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl." (Job 31:1 NIV)

Job lived a life that reflected the identity of a Godly man ... this covenant with his eyes is a reflection that identity. Here is the way God described Job:

"There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Job 1:8)

Barnes’ commentary interprets the passage like this:

”The phrase here, “I made a covenant with mine eyes,” is poetical, meaning that he solemnly resolved. A covenant is of a sacred and binding nature; and the strength of his resolution was as great as if he had made a solemn compact. A covenant or compact was usually made by slaying an animal in sacrifice, and the compact was ratified over the animal that was slain, by a kind of imprecation that if the compact was violated the same destruction might fall on the violators which fell on the head of the victim.” “By the language here, Job means that he had resolved, in the most solemn manner, that he would not allow his eyes or thoughts to endanger him by improperly contemplating a woman.”

When I was younger I made a covenant similar to Job. I found that, over the years, this covenant has been tested over and over again. On occasion I would slip and watch something on TV that I knew I shouldn’t. I would then repent … often not right away … and reaffirm the covenant with my eyes. Over time, I have seen God do an amazing work in my heart where, like Job, my identity has become a source of strength rather than one of weakness.

During the years that I visited a minimum security prison I was often confronted with the fact that Christian men were there for sex related crimes … often crimes that began with pornographic voyeurism. Many times I saw the shame in their faces and the regret for destroying their lives and their families. Christian men hear me … take this issue seriously … make a covenant with your eyes … get rid of your porn and stay away from porn sites. If you need help get it but live no longer rationalizing and justifying your behavior. Here is a prayer that you can pray:

Father I have sinned. I have … (insert your specific sins here) … and I am truly sorry. Please forgive me. I renounce my lustful behavior, I renounce involvement with pornography, I renounce objectifying women … (renounce other things here). Father I ask you to replace these things with a pure love for women … I ask you to help me to look on them as sisters. I pray that you will put me in a place of accountability and humility.

By your grace and in your name I make a covenant with my eyes to no longer look with lust on a girl or woman.”

Amen.