Guarding Our Senses

In a world so filled with visual and auditory stimulations, we are often bombarded by thousands of images and sounds that encompass our daily experience. Some of these stimuli can be beautiful and uplifting, but many of them often tend to be crude, degrading, perverted, and downright evil. When we invite these images and thoughts into our lives, they have a way of affecting our thoughts, feelings, mood, and actions, for good or for ill. They can also greatly damage our relationships with others, especially our spouse.

Over the next several weeks, I will be talking about the danger of not guarding our senses (sight, thoughts, tongue, etc.), or, in other words, not protecting our hearts, and the hearts of others, through monitoring our words, thoughts, and actions. Too often we can justify the things we watch on the internet or TV believing that they are not affecting our moral compass. We can justify the things we say with the belief that the words are true, whether or not they are stated harshly or with poor timing. We can also justify impure thoughts with the excuse that we are not outwardly acting upon the thoughts. However, Christ warned us of the damage of this type of action, (Matt. 5:28) “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Over the next several weeks, I want to challenge all of us, me included, to understand the damage that comes from not protecting our senses, and also the power and gift it can be to ourselves and others when we do safeguard them. It takes not only our own will to do it, but also, and most importantly, our asking for God’s grace to overcome these temptations we struggle with. We need to have the resolve of believing that in doing so, we are actively protecting ourselves as well as the wellbeing of our spouse and children.  

ACTION STEP: This week, start thinking about all the ways you justify allowing sin to enter into your life or how you allow it to come forth from you towards others. Pray for the grace to change these behaviors.