I wrote this back in February, and I still need this lesson as much as I did back then...
“I made a covenant with mine eyes;”
Job 31:1
This morning, I’m enjoying my favorite time of the year.
Here in my little town, in the month of February, we begin to enjoy the
loveliest season, when we’re saying “Good Bye” to the cold winter days. When I
get up in the mornings, I love opening the windows of my house. But I’ve
noticed something here lately: they’re a little dirty. It’s time for me to
begin my routine spring cleaning.
God has given us “windows.” What’s more, He’s put them in
our bodies. They’re our eyes, and our ears. All kinds of information and
knowledge enter through these “windows” of ours. People who are deaf or blind
need to use different methods so that these “cloudy windows” can allow entrance
to information and knowledge.
Have you ever considered how little control we have over
these “windows” of our body? For example, maybe in your home you don’t listen
to worldly music; it could be that you are careful with what you watch on TV.
But if you go to the mall, and there is wild music playing there that isn’t
pleasing to God, you can’t avoid its entering into your ears. Although we can
close our eyes, at times there are images that suddenly pass before our eyes
unexpectedly, leaving an unforgettable impression.
There’s a children’s chorus that goes something like
this, “Be careful little eyes what you see…Be careful little ears what you
hear…” Actually, that children’s song could be a prayer for us ladies. Just as
the Psalmist David says in Psalm 141:3, “Set
a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips,” it would be a good idea to do what Job did with his
eyes in Job 31:1, “I made a covenant with
mine eyes;”
Has it ever occurred to you how many images enter the
windows of our eyes every hour? What we do with those images is what’s
important. While there are things we can’t control, we can control the way we
react to those images.
What do you do with the things you hear? While we can
close the windows of our eyes, or look the other way, at times we have no
control over the things that enter into the windows of our ears. By the way,
have you noticed in the past months how many people use earphones? Could it be
because they’re so considerate of others that they don’t want to be a bother?
Or is it because they don’t want others to hear what they’re listening to? For
example, ever seen anyone in Wal-Mart, or in line at the bank, or behind the
wheel of a car talking and talking as if they were talking to themselves? No.
They put these things into their ears, or hook them around them, so they don’t
have to use their hands. That way they can drive without putting others in
danger. Or they can load their shopping cart and talk at the same time on their
phone. Those are just some observations I’ve made perhaps because I’m a little
behind the times in modern technology. It still looks strange to me to see
kids…and adults…be-bopping to the sound of nothing.
Through the windows of our eyes and our ears we receive
much more information than we did ten or twenty years ago. That’s why we need
to care for them more than before; we need to keep them cleaner. It may even take more work, more time to be
careful of what goes in.
I.
The
window of our ears. Now, it’s obvious that we should do certain basics to
keep this window clean. You and I can control what we watch on TV, or
inappropriate glances at men. But what about what you see on the Internet? I
thank the Lord for modern technology, and what little I know about using it.
But I must watch the time I spend in front of my computer screen. Usually, if
you see me sitting at my computer (by the way, I’m writing this on a program
called “Windows”) it’s because I’m working. 90% of my ministry consists of
preparing lessons and answering e-mails. I have to discipline myself to turn on
my computer. Sometimes when I’m going to make a short weekend Conference trip,
I give myself a little vacation, and leave my laptop at home, because it
represents my work, besides the fact that it’s a hassle to get it through
airport security. There is a very well-known Web Site on the Internet where you
can go and know, let’s say, what your friend on the other side of the world is
doing at that precise moment. And double blessing if she’s your daughter or
he’s your son! But I’m afraid that ladies who would never watch a soap opera, will
spend time chatting, sharing gossip, instead of caring for her responsibilities
as wife and mother. While I thank the Lord for this marvelous method of
communicating, I’m afraid we know too much. My husband always said, “The less I
know about someone, the better.” I sometimes think we ladies suffer illnesses
that ten, twenty years ago, we didn’t even know existed. I’m amazed at the
intelligence of some women. I was married to a pediatrician for 35 years, and I
don’t know half the diseases my friends know, because they’ve investigated
symptoms, remedies, and causes of diseases I’ve never even heard of. We know
too much for our own good about things, even though maybe they’re important, or
they don’t affect us, or maybe they do, but what do we gain by knowing them?
What can we do to change them? The information we gain over the Internet
worries us, stresses us out, and lets us know about things we’ll never be able
to change. While I’m all for wisdom, and caring for our health, and going to
the dentist twice a year, eating nutritious food, resting, etc.; and I agree
that we should never ignore abnormal symptoms, we are traumatized by all this
accumulation of knowledge. Supposedly the Internet should be a relaxing
activity. But how many things did you see over the Internet today that brought
you peace? Did something you see make you want to read your Bible more, or love
your husband more, or be more faithful to church and to your responsibilities?
Sometimes when I go to my computer I pray, “Lord, please don’t let me get any
frightening news.” Be careful of the time you spend in front of your computer
on the Internet. The windows of our eyes see things that cause covetousness.
How easy it is to go shopping today without even leaving our home, without
going to the bank to withdraw money, or even getting dressed! With one Click,
we can put products in our shopping cart that if we had to go out, or hand over
dollar bills, we would never purchase. We reserve tickets, hotels, cars, and
cruises. All these details that I’ve observed about the Internet, we women who
are in ministry are doing, the same as wives of laymen; women of affluence, as
well as the college student who can barely pay her tuition. Technology has
reached the most remote corners of the world. The culture where I live consists
of Indians, farmers, simple people. But it’s very rare to see an Indian without
a cell phone, and even cell phones have Internet access. By the way, do you
know what your children are seeing in the messages they send and receive? Have
you noticed that one of the qualities of the Virtuous Woman in Proverbs
31:10-31 is that she watches over her family? Protect your children from things they shouldn’t see. While you are
responsible for their physical growth and care while they’re small, you are
also responsible for their spiritual growth if they still live in your house. Protect your husband. In Proverbs 31,
the Virtuous Woman protects her family. Verses 15, 18, 21, and 27 suggest that
she watches over her family. We see phrases like “She riseth also while it is yet night…” “her candle goeth not out by night.” “…all her household are clothed with
scarlet.” “and eateth not the bread of idleness.” These phrases tell us that
she gets up early, and at times she stays up late. She’s concerned about the
security of her family, and she’s not lazy. The Virtuous Lady of Proverbs cares
for and protects her loved ones. I believe that if she lived in our days she
would protect her husband and her children from cursing, and blaspheming, and
music that dishonors God. Our eyes are
the windows which allow things to enter that affect our minds. Ask the Lord to
put His angels around them.
II.
The
window of our ears. Perhaps this window is much harder to protect than the
one of our eyes. It’s possible to close our eyes, or look the other way to
avoid harmful things from entering. But what about our ears? Even though we
might cover them up, we can’t completely avoid cursing, gossip, and jokes that
might dishonor God, negative comments about our pastor, or music that is
displeasing to the Lord. So, the only thing we can do is to be careful of the
way we respond to these negative entries through the window of our ears. The sad
thing is that many times they enter without warning. A few weeks ago I was on a
plane. We were waiting to get off, and there was a group of men standing in the
aisle beside my seat. They had visited my state here in Mexico. I’m ashamed to
say that they were Americans. They were making inappropriate comments in
English about the women here. There was absolutely nothing I could have done so
that those comments didn’t enter the window of my ears. Perhaps they thought no
one on the plane spoke English; but it’s most likely that they didn’t care if
they offended bilingual ladies who were sitting close by. I have gotten on
public transportation that had the radio on to a station that played English
songs. The driver didn’t even know what the lyrics said. On occasions I’ve
asked the driver to turn off the music, because it was offensive to me, and I
didn’t want my teenage daughters who were with me to hear it. We should protest
when it’s possible, as the Virtuous Lady would have done, to protect our
windows, and those of our family. But besides the negative things that we can’t
avoid, I’d like to focus on those we can control. For example, what do you do
when a friend or a lady in the church comes to you with a bit of gossip? How
can we respond to someone who starts to criticize our pastor, or our husband?
Are you like a sponge, ready to absorb every drop of the delicious bad things
of an acquaintance, or a friend? When someone starts to criticize the pastor,
or his wife, do you jump at the chance to deposit your juicy news that you’ve
been saving for just the right moment like this? What should we do when someone
comes to us and starts criticizing or gossiping? There are three things we can
do:
A)
Go get the person who is being criticized
B)
Defend her/him
C)
Turn around and leave the presence of the
person who is putting garbage in the windows of your ears.
It is a wise woman who protects her eyes and her ears
from material impurities. But even wiser that woman who protects the windows of
the eyes and ears of impurities, not only her own, but also those of her
husband and her children.
So come on, ladies, and do some spring cleaning with me,
starting with our windows.
