“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1st John 2:15-17 Just what is the “Lust Of The Eyes”?
Simply put, the lust of the eyes is the want or desire to gain what we see or to have those things which have a visual liking or appeal to us. The desire for money, possessions, or other material things is not from God, but from the influence of the world around us. This passage, in 1st John, states that material things don’t last, they will pass away. Whereas the child of God is guaranteed eternity.
In Exodus 20:17 covetousness (“Lust Of The Eyes”) is addressed in the 10 Commandments. You shall not covet: 1) Your neighbors house 2) Your neighbors wife 3) his male servant 4) his female servant 5) his ox 6) his donkey 7) Or anything that is your neighbor’s. Coveting includes the desires to have people , possessions, money, and/or status.
In Genesis 3:6, Satan uses the lust of the eyes to temp Eve. It says she looked at the forbidden fruit and saw it was “pleasing to the eye”. In Matthew 4:8 Satan used a similar tactic on Jesus when he “showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their greatness”. He then promised to give them to Jesus–for a price. Jesus did not give in to the lust of the eyes, and Satan was defeated.
We must resist the “Lust Of The Eyes”. The world is full of good looking “Stuff”. Materialism comes at us with a promise of being happy and contented. Society is bombbarded with advertising that might as well say, “Covet This!!”
It’s been said that “All That Glitters Is Not Gold”, and a Christian knows that fame and fortune quickly fade away. Let’s not focus on the newest product or the latest fashion, but let us keep our focus on knowing Christ and the Power Of His Resurrection, keeping fellowship with those of like minds.
EYES SET ON JESUS so OUR VIEW IS ETERNITY!!
SMILE God loves YOU!! Have a good day all.
