a battle plan for the eyes and mind

For most young men, the eyes bounce toward the sexual and not away from it. To combat years and years of this reflexive action, you need to train your eyes to immediately bounce away when they come upon a sexy image—much like the way you jerk your hand away from a hot stove. Here is what you want to do in a nutshell: When your eyes bounce toward a woman’s attributes, they must bounce away immediately.

—adapted from Every Young Man’s Battle

FIX YOUR EYES ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW

Garrett said, “Honestly, I’d never really guarded my eyes before or even thought about it. I watched any movies I wanted, and I looked way too long at the girls at school, but I really didn’t think these things affected my life. But after my mom read your book and told me about it, I began to wonder. So I paid more attention to my eyes over the next day or so, and I found that they were collecting more sexual gratification than I’d thought.”

—adapted from Every Young Man’s Battle

I will set before my eyes no vile thing.

PSALM 101:3, NIV

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

PROVERBS 4:25–27, NLT

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.

PSALM 119:37, NKJV

I will tell who can live here: All who are honest and fair … who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong.

ISAIAH 33:15, TLB

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

MATTHEW 5:29, NIV

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF LUST

If you want freedom from sexual sin, you must put the ax to the roots. What are the roots? That you’re stopping short of God’s standard, accepting (through your eyes and your mind) more than a hint of immorality in your life.

—adapted from Every Man’s Battle

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

ROMANS 13:14, NASB

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

GALATIANS 5:16–17, NKJV

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

GALATIANS 5:19,21, NLT

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.

1 PETER 2:11, NKJV

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

EPHESIANS 6:11–17, NIV

Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the place of destruction) are never satisfied; so [the lust of] the eyes of man is never satisfied.

PROVERBS 27:20, AMP

CONTINUE TO FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

Fight the good fight for what we believe. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.

1 TIMOTHY 6:12, NLT

Cling tightly to your faith in Christ and always keep your conscience clear, doing what you know is right. For some people have disobeyed their consciences and have deliberately done what they knew was wrong.

1 TIMOTHY 1:19, TLB

My son, keep my words

and treasure up my commandments with you;

keep my commandments and live,

keep my teachings as the apple of your eye;

bind them on your fingers,

write them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend;

to preserve you from the loose woman,

from the adventuress with her smooth words.

PROVERBS 7:1–5, RSV