PROTECTION

"Garbage in, garbage out." There is a lot more to that old saying than meets the eye. In fact, that saying is very biblical. There are several scriptures which tell us that what we look at effects our hearts. King David wrote about this topic in Psalm 101. David's worst troubles began when he watched Bathsheba bathing and desired her. He later repented, but irreparable damage had been done. He learned some very hard lessons. One of those lessons is to be careful what you look at.

I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;

I hate the work of those who fall away;

It shall not cling to me.

A perverse heart shall depart from me;

I will not know wickedness.

(Psalm 101:3-4, NKJV)

Protecting your heart begins with protecting your eyes.

To protect ourselves from evil, we should not look at it.

David wrote, "I will set nothing wicked before my eyes." If we look at it, we will begin to think about it. It will then affect our thinking. Sometimes we cannot help what enters our field of vision. But we can control what we continue to look at. Close your eyes. Turn away. Walk away. Do whatever it takes to get away from things that are wicked.

To protect ourselves from evil, we should not love it.

David wrote, "I hate the work of those who fall away." Notice, he hates the WORKS, not the PEOPLE who fall away. We should never hate people. But we should always hate sin. If we love wickedness in our hearts, we will do wickedness with our hands. We must develop a holy hatred of sin. Sin destroys people. Sin kills. Don't love it. Hate it. Determine to rid yourself of it, with God's help.

To protect ourselves from evil, we should leave it.

David wrote, "It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness." Like a rotten infection, sin needs to be cleaned out. Sin sickens the soul. It is to be eliminated at all costs. Sin is serious. It is serious enough for God to send His Son, Jesus, to die in order to pay for it. That's serious. When we play with sin, we mock Jesus' sacrifice. None of us are perfect. But that is no excuse for entertaining sin in our lives. We should be earnestly seeking God's help to eliminate all traces of sin in our lives. Don't love it; leave it.

We must love God more than we love our sin.

Love for God should motivate all we do. He loves us. He sent Jesus to die for us. He offers us forgiveness and restoration. Those who turn from their sin (repent) and put their trust in Jesus (believe) will have eternal life and will be forgiven and cleansed from their sins. We become God's children, and begin a brand new life. However, after this change, we still sometimes sin. When we do, we must confess our sins to God and seek His forgiveness, not because we will lose our salvation (we cannot lose that), but because allowing sin in our lives interferes with our fellowship with God. If we truly love Him, we will not want anything to interfere with our fellowship with Him.

Don't take garbage in. Take it out.