I remember really well when my mom finally gave in and allowed me to go see the movie Titanic in the movie theatre in my hometown. All of my friends were going and I did not want to be left out. The movie had made a lot of noise because of a topless scene it contained. One of the final things my mom said as my friend and I began the four block walk to the theatre was to make sure I covered my eyes when that time came. I was nine and assured her I would. Long story short, the scene came and I definitely did not cover my eyes, and neither did any other nine year old in the whole place. The funny thing about looking back on that is that at 24 I now cover my eyes and fast forward through movie scenes that I never did before. I didn’t see the value of guarding my eyes until I was 22 years old.

Luke 11:34– The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

Your eyes are something that you will never guard or protect until you see the value of it. By value I’m not talking about how many times you hear that it is sin and bad, I’m talking about when you finally see for yourself how destructive allowing your eyes to run wild can truly be. Starting with that movie and spring boarding from there into pornography I let my eyes dictate and control my life for almost twelve years. I went where they wanted me to go and saw what they wanted me to see. I had unapologetically undressed thousands of girls with my eyes while they walked by or were in any proximity to me. Nothing and no one was off limits. I was an animal with no regard for how my actions affected me or anyone else.

When freedom from porn finally came in my life, I saw for the first time just how much damage my eyes had done. I was so ashamed of what I’d allowed them to do and now had millions of pictures, images of faces, butts, and breasts that my eyes had taken and stored in my mind. These images came to haunt me and gave me no escape. I wanted to forget them and I wanted it to be like I had never seen any of them before.

Instead of beating myself up over what I’d seen in the past I began to focus on controlling what I could in the future. It’s so important to remember as guys that our eyes are naturally attracted to the body of a female, but our eyes were never meant to control us. We are not animals, we are children of God. God meant for every part of us, our thoughts, our words and what we see with our eyes to bring glory and honor to Him. We can choose to honor young ladies and respect them with our eyes, regardless of whether they ever notice or not. God does notice and it pleases Him when we honor His children in every way.

Your friends may not think it’s cool to cover your eyes or leave a room when a sexual scene comes on, but they may never know just how cool it is to stand up for what you believe and value in that situation. Nobody else but you controls your purity and nobody else will guard your eyes if you don’t. The discomfort is temporary, but the reward is eternal.