The Peril of Pornography - 4/6/06

Job said: I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? (Job 31:1) At some point in his life this man of God determined not to participate in sexual immorality by keeping his heart pure. He had made vow – a solemn vow - with his eyes not to allow them to be the conduit to his mind of impure images that lead to unholy desires. (Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible) It was not enough for him to be chaste in his deeds, but he wanted to keep his mind pure too. We would do well to walk in his steps in this matter!

In the Proverbs 6 the young man being warned about the adulteress: “do not desire her beauty in your heart.” With his eyes he in captivated by her beauty and “with her eyelids” she captures him. (vs. 6). According to Keil and Delitzsch “with her eyelids” refers to “the her coquettish ogling and amorous winking.” Coquettish (co quettish) is an adjective derived from coquette - a woman who endeavors without sincere affection to gain the attention and admiration of men. This seductive look, in the words of the wise man, reduces a man “to a loaf of bread.” In other words, the man who associates with the adulteress “wastes his wealth” (Prov 29:3b) – impoverishes the man. And can it be any other way? Does the man who associates with the whore, the harlot, the fornicator, and the adulteress believe that he can do this without harm to himself? (Prov 6:27-28) “Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?”

But returning to the eye that fixes it’s gaze upon the woman (or man) to inspect her or him with a view of imagining what it would be like to have sex with them, listen to the fearful and solemn declaration of the Savior: (Matt 5:27-30) You have heard that it was said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY”; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

To gaze upon another for the purpose of becoming sexually aroused is no innocent matter. No one can ever be too careful on this subject; no person can ever make too solemn a covenant with his eyes and with his whole soul to be chaste.

Kieran Murphy
Category: Godly Ethics