“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matthew 5:27-30

Dear Jesus, How serious you are that I would learn to live a pure life not only by not cheating on my wife, but also by not cheating on you with my eyes! You created each of us to live in a beautiful, safe marriage or in friendships void of selfish indulgence. How you must ache every day to watch women objectivized and exploited! I live in a generation that has forgotten how to blush. Help me to protect my own heart and the hearts of people around me by giving me the strength to deal seriously with the temptation to lust. I would rather do without certain freedoms than to use my freedom to sin with my eyes and heart. Make the sanctity of every marriage my highest cause, so I support struggling couples and make every woman and man feel safe and served in my presence. Amen.

God made all people to serve his beautiful purposes. Don’t yank them down to serve your selfish desires.

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