Blinders

“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” (Ps 101:3 AV)

The first part of the verse above is rather familiar to most.  David writes this psalm after an event of personal failure.  Some attribute his statement as a response to David’s failure with Bathsheba.  That most certainly could have been the case.  Regardless of what motivated the vow above, what we can discern is the level of purity is far and above what most are willing to promise.  We do not have a problem vowing and striving for purity in our public life.  We don’t want to suffer the consequences that come of it.  Where we struggle is purity in our private life.  David may well have been speaking of his literal house here.  His palace.  He domain.  Within those walls, he would not allow impurity before his eyes.  We are not limited to our homes.  Our privacy extends to anything or places wherein we can exist privately.  Our phones and computers come to mind.  A secluded place like a bathroom, study room, or the great outdoors could also be a private place.  Anywhere that humanity cannot observe you would be considered one of those places.  It is in those places which David promises that not one wicked thing would pass before his eyes.

The statement above is easier said than done.  We live in a wicked world and avoiding eye contact with any and all that is wicked is nearly impossible.   However, that does not mean we are to surrender and take it all in because it cannot be avoided.  We have all had eye exams at one time or another.  There are so many aspects of eyesight which the doctor examines thoroughly.  When I was about thirteen or fourteen, my mother took me to an ophthalmologist as opposed to an optometrist.  I am not certain of the specific difference.  All I know is the latter is far more exhaustive when he examines his patient.  The doctor which I visited had his office in his house.  One test, in particular, reminded me of flying at warp speed through the stars.  These very small white dots of light flew by my peripheral vision.  It was like I was watching the Enterprise go into warp speed from the observation deck.  One of the standard tests they administer is to read the number that is hidden in the middle of colored dots.  This test looks for colorblindness.  To see the numbers, our brains differentiate the different colors and sort them out to make sense of that which should be there.  It focuses on the right dots and ignores the wrong dots.  It all depends on what our brains choose to dwell on regardless of what is there.

David makes a promise here.  He wasn’t always successful.  There were times his eyes dwelled upon things they should not.  The promise still stood.  Much of our difficulties could be mitigated by controlling our input.  If we take a bit of care in that which enters the eyes and ears, we wouldn’t have to battle nearly as many battles as we do.  If we knew where our enemies were and avoided them, then perhaps we wouldn’t get hurt so much.  It is surprising how much we put before our eyes which we don’t really need.  This takes planning and foresight.  This requires one not to be naïve, understanding wickedness is ever before us.  David makes a vow that he will deliberately control that which he allows his eyes to become drawn to.  In doing so, he saves himself from the trouble he would otherwise have to battle.