Just Say “No!” – The Kingdom Curriculum XI (4)

Just Say “No!”

“You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18

“None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD.” Leviticus 18:6

A Covenant with Your Eyes?

The problem of lust is as old as mankind. Job was aware of it, and, anticipating Luther’s advice, he prepared himself to keep from falling through lust to the greater sin of outright adultery. He said that he had made a covenant with his eyes not to gaze upon a young woman (Job. 31:1), presumably to lust after her. He figured that the best way to keep lust from finding a place in his heart was not to fixate on anything that might initiate it. He determined that he would not “gaze” upon a young woman.

Now obviously Job could not avoid young women, and no doubt many of those ladies were quite lovely to look upon. Job had made up his mind that he would appreciate their beauty without allowing that appreciation to dissolve into sin. He knew he must not allow his gaze to linger on a beautiful woman, for that would only lead to greater troubles. Did Job have a repertoire of holy and righteous and good images to which he would direct his mind whenever he felt the pressure of temptation? Did he simply recall the beauty and holiness of God? We don’t know; however, by some means he managed to keep himself pure from what today has come to be regarded as a “harmless” peccadillo.

In our day Job’s counsel seems prudish, even a little silly. Everybody flirts. Everybody dresses somewhat less than modestly. Sex and seduction are shot throughout our culture. So what’s the big whoop? In our day adultery, in all its many and varied forms, is rampant, and adultery is destroying crucial institutions of our society, such as the home and the church. We cannot merely wink at this; more drastic and decisive action is required on the part of those who love the Law of God. Pop culture fuels the fires of lust by every conceivable means. We must resist the pressure merely to give in to temptation, and begin discovering practices that will allow us to just say “No!” to every form of evil. I wonder what making a covenant with our eyes would look like in our day?

How can we use the Law of God to make wise ethical choices? Order your copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics today. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.