I remember getting a notice from the government as to how much money I had made in my life time. It all had to do with my contribution to Social Security over the years and each preceding year had the amount of money I had made and how much I had paid into Social Security. At the time, it seemed to be a pathetic amount and I often thought that I will never be a rich man. Then, one day, I was informed that if I had change in my pocket which was deposited in a tin can or a dresser drawer each day, I was probably among the top 15% of the wealthiest people on the earth. I seem to always have lived just a couple of percentage points above what I actually made. Hence, I was in debt, not a lot, but nonetheless living beyond my means even if by only a little bit. Proverbs 27:20 says, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
We learn a very important lesson from Genesis 3 and Matthew 4 and First John 2 and it is that there seem to be just three avenues of sin that plague us day after day and they are, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Satan used it in the Garden of Eden and in Matthew 4 and John goes on to mention that He is still using it in the lives of people today. Our eyes are important to say the least, but they behold many wondrous things that are just beyond our grasp but that doesn't stop us from continually reaching out to get more and more. My parents never gave me an allowance. If I wanted some money, I had to work for it somewhere else. I have mentioned before about my first job that paid twenty-five cents and took me about an hour to accomplish as I was to unload a wagon full of corn into the corn crib. The owner of the farm would leave me one each evening during corn picking season to unload after school. As usual, the quarter was okay, but I wanted just a little more so in time I got forty cents an hour to assist around the farm. Plowing a field for several hours would result in a dollar and twenty cents. Before college, I got my first factory job working for Allis Chalmers Corn Picker factory in the nearby city. I was on the orange paint line and would bring home about 70 dollars a week after taxes and such. Of course, money is not the only thing we pursue after. Our eyes behold many different kinds of material things which always seem to be so close, yet out of our reach. The devil knows how to dangle the carrot in front of you. That is the point of the Scripture today. The eyes of man are never satisfied.” Between Google and Yahoo, I delete almost one hundred emails a day advertising almost everything under the sun. If, perchance, I look for something, the advertisements begin popping up on the borders of my computer screen always advertising something bigger and better than last week. If the lust of the eyes is one of the big three avenues for sin, then we ought to be turning our vision towards something or Someone more profitable in our lives. One song writer wrote, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus...” Have you ever had one of those moments that while looking at something glorious, you just didn't want to look away for fear of missing something? Perhaps it was your first look at the Grand Canyon or a sunset or sunrise or the Northern Lights. Even greater, just look forward to the time when you arrive in heaven and what it will be like beholding something as glorious as that will be! Fanny Crosby, who was blind, often wrote hymns that would say something about vision. “Visions of rapture now burst on my sight.” Take your eyes of the things of the world and behold the mighty works of God. Praise God today for His working in our lives, all around us and in us and through us.
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