What You Let In Front of You

David sings, I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. There is something bracing about how deliberate this is. David is not waiting to see what drifts across his vision and then reacting; he is deciding in advance what he will and will not put in front of himself. The eyes are a gate, and he has taken responsibility for what he allows through it. In our time this is a harder and more constant choice than it was for him, because the worthless thing is always one thumb movement away, waiting quietly in a pocket. Most of what pulls us down did not ambush us. We set it before our own eyes, opened the app, followed the link, lingered where we knew better. That is a hard thing to admit, but it is also strangely hopeful, because a choice you are making is a choice you can begin to make differently. You have more say over the gate than shame lets you believe. Tonight, before you are tired and the hour is late, decide what you will not set before your eyes, and ask God to guard the gate with you when your own resolve thins.