I can’t be on TikTok; TikTok, Instagram and Facebook put appealing yet rotten fruit in front of our eyes. So, to keep my eyes, my heart, my soul pure, I just don’t have TikTok. If I had it, I would linger. And therein lies the problem. 

In the Book of Job, Job is in a world of hurt. The enemy has brought Job to the place of the worst suffering. Money, kids, health all gone. Job’s friends gather around him and instead of showing empathy, they pile on the suffering with accusations. 

“Hey Job. You probably sinned in your mind. You probably looked at a girl and were enticed into thinking things about her that you shouldn’t have.” Job answers in Job 31:1 with one of the most matter-of-fact verses in all of Scripture. Job says, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman” (NIV). Job later tells his friends that he hasn’t been looking lustfully at women or been enticed by his neighbor’s wife (Job 31:9-11). 

This reminds me of a story I once heard about the rattlesnake on the mountaintop. A mountain climber was climbing a huge mountain. When he arrived near the top, he heard a rattlesnake shaking in the higher elevation. The snake said to the mountain climber, “It’s cold up here. Please carry me  down. I promise I won’t bite.” The mountain climber said to the rattlesnake, “Of course you’ll bite. You’re a snake!” The rattlesnake continued to plead with the mountain climber until he relented. The mountain climber put the snake around his shoulders and began to descend the mountain. As the snake warmed up and the mountain climber grew closer to the ground, the rattlesnake moved around the man’s shoulders more and more. The mountain climber asked the snake, “You promise you won’t bite me?” The snake promised. As soon as they were on the ground, the snake bit deep into the mountain climber’s neck. The mountain climber slumped against the ground. “You said you wouldn’t bite me! You promised!” The rattlesnake said to the mountain climber, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.” 

Pornography. It’s the rattlesnake that promises not to bite. The pornography snake says, “Play with me for a bit. I promise I won’t bite.” Listen. You know what it is so don’t pick it up! Whatever it takes to keep yourself holy, do it. Delete that social media app. Throw the magazines away. Seek help. Don’t linger with it. Don’t let it convince you that it’s harmless. It’s biting and sinking its sinful venom into your very soul. Let us be like Job and make a covenant with our eyes, “not to look lustfully.” 

Jesus uses strong language when it comes to this pornography poison. When we look lustfully at anyone, we diminish the very image of God in them. We look at others and make the decision not to see them as human beings, as people, as God’s image bearers. This is killing you. You may disagree and think it’s just a release to destress, but it’s killing you. The Lord has so much more for you. Get help; talk to a trusted, spiritually mature mentor. Don’t pick it up, no matter how pretty and appealing. It will bite you. Jesus sets us free. Be free. Be free today.

Daily Readings

• MARCH 1: 1 Corinthians 6:18
• MARCH 2: 1 Peter 2:11
• MARCH 3: 2 Timothy 2:22
• MARCH 4: Colossians 3:5
• MARCH 5: Ephesians 5:3
• MARCH 6: 1 Corinthians 10:13
• MARCH 7: 1 John 2:16
• MARCH 8: Matthew 5:28
• MARCH 9: Philippians 4:8
• MARCH 10: Psalm 119:37
• MARCH 11: James 1:14-15
• MARCH 12: Ephesians 5:11
• MARCH 13: Proverbs 7:21-23
• MARCH 14: Proverbs 7:24-27
• MARCH 15: 1 John 1:9
• MARCH 16: Ephesians 3:20
• MARCH 17: Ephesians 6:11-13
• MARCH 18: Proverbs 6:25
• MARCH 19: Galatians 5:16
• MARCH 20: Romans 12:2
• MARCH 21: James 5:16
• MARCH 22: Matthew 6:22-23
• MARCH 23: 1 Thessalonians 5:22
• MARCH 24: Psalm 101:3
• MARCH 25: 2 Samuel 11:1-5
• MARCH 26: Hebrews 4:15-16
• MARCH 27: Titus 2:11-12
• MARCH 28: Galatians 5:1
• MARCH 29: 2 Corinthians 5:17
• MARCH 30: Colossians 3:1-3
• MARCH 31: Psalm 51