CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 968

 “Eye Candy”

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15)

A modern dictionary defines “Eye Candy” as an object with considerable visual appeal. Our reference Scripture calls it ‘the desires of the eyes’ and further qualifies it as ‘not from the Father’. Our bodies’ senses are truly a marvelous creation of God. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 119:14) However, due to Adam’s sin our bodies are corruptible in this life and Satan has exploited that by tempting us to sin through our physical senses. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:14) Some common eye candy is:

FOOD – We see or smell certain foods and we salivate in anticipation. We may not even be hungry having just finished a good meal, yet we will indulge in that special dessert. Enjoying food is a gift of God. The problem arises when we indulge our senses to the point that our physical health suffers due to obesity and the associated ailments that come from it. We are to be good stewards of our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit. The body we have on this earth is the body that is to be the hands and feet of Jesus – it is the body that is to be used in His service. When we abuse food to the detriment of our health and in search of comfort then that food has become an idol that we placed before God.

BLING – This term came into being to define the showy jewelry of the Hip-Hop culture but has evolved into meaning fancy cars, clothing, homes and accessories. It categorizes what our reference Scriptures terms the ‘pride in possessions’. God desires us to prosper and have all of our needs met in abundance. We miss the mark however when our hearts’ desire tends toward covetousness and the accumulation of wealth in this world with little thought of storing up wealth in the eternal kingdom to come. Beware of the trap of that ‘new car smell’ – Do you really need a new car? Is it good stewardship to go into debt for it? The same questions apply to jewelry, shoes, and electronics of all kinds. Is it a need or a ‘pride in possession’?

SEX – Sex appeal. It is used to sell everything from cars to beverages, burgers and web hosting services. Sex sells using eye candy. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:15) Far too many men and women have been lured into sexual immorality by the enemy’s appeal to our natural sexual desires. The ripple effect of this sin is like a rock thrown into a pond except that it is tsunamic in proportion. Families are broken. Marriages end in divorce. Souls are tattered and many die spiritually. Continual indulgence to this temptation brings an addiction and a callousness that requires ever increasing perversion to be satisfied.

We cannot muster up enough willpower or strength to overcome the lure of eye candy. It is only through the abiding presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ and His indwelling Holy Spirit that we can overcome. When the enemy knocks at the door, ask Jesus to kindly get the door. Take every thought captive as unto the Lord. Choose today to desire purity and His abiding presence more than the eye candy of this world.