Keep my eyes from looking at worthless things
The psalmist asks God to, “Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things and revive me in Your way.” – Psalm 119:37
We should understand the importance of this when it comes to our children, especially with the direction our society is headed. Churches often have children sing, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see.” As parents, we should monitor what they watch and stream, which has become especially important as “entertainment companies” have strategically placed things in their children’s programming that attempt to indoctrinate and normalize sin. But according to the psalmist, ALL godly people should be concerned about this.
What do you spend your time looking at? Does God even care? The world we live in is full of “worthless things.”
Job sets a notable example for us as a godly man who is concerned with what he looks at when he says, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” (Job 31:1). Job was concerned about where he let his eyes linger because he understood this was the way to guard his heart.
Going back to the psalmist’s request about his eyes, he immediately follows a request about his heart (Psalm 119:36). He is seeking God’s help in setting a guard over his eyes because he understands that when our eyes roam, so does our heart.
Solomon understood this when he said, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life … Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established” (Proverbs 4:23-26).
Jesus explains in Matthew 6:22-23 that the eye is the lamp of the body. If the eye is filled with light, the body will be filled with light, but if the eye is filled with darkness, so is the body.
With all that said, the issue of looking at worthless things is not just a matter of sin, but more about time. The world in which we live is full of “worthless things.” What do we spend our time looking at? The television? Books? Magazines? The computer screen? Our smartphones? Our tablets? Facebook? Instagram? YouTube? TikTok?
Does God even care?
Granted, we need time for recreation, but if we are not careful, our eyes can be focused on “worthless things” for hours or even days. We can spend way too much time flipping through channels, binge-watching television shows, and movies. We can spend way too long playing video games. We can spend countless hours scrolling through social media posts, or “doom scrolling,” through endless video reels. Many of these social media companies have spent billions of dollars making their content addictive so that we will spend even more time on their apps, making us feel like we need to check our phones with every notification.
For those of us who struggle with addiction to social media, look at your “Screen Time” or “Digital Well-being” under “Settings,” then compare how much time you have spent on social media versus how much time you have spent doing productive things like actually being present with your children or reading your bible. How do they compare? What are you going to do about it?
See, God is looking for productive servants. Do you remember what the Master said to the one talented man: “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So, you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my coming, I would have received back my own with interest. So, take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:26-30). He did not use what his master gave him (including his time) for useful things. He was not a good steward of his time or his resources. He was not productive. He was lazy. This could be said of many in our society.
We should not spend so much time looking at “worthless things” and waste time that could be spent in productive ways. Doing things like reading our Bibles, praying, going to church, and serving others. Just as the psalmist, let us pray that the Lord will help us turn our eyes from worthless things and busy ourselves with productive things that will produce fruit for Him.
Visitors are welcome and valued. We meet at 15530 Herriman Blvd., Noblesville. Our phone number is (317) 219-5852. We meet for Sunday morning Bible Study at 10 a.m. and have classes for all ages. Worship begins at 11 a.m. and we have a Bible Study Wednesdays at 7 p.m. A warm welcome awaits!