How much does your choice affect purity?
How do I know if seeing/watching something is a sin?
” If your right eye causes you to sin, 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 sin, 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 5:29-30
Is it your eyes that cause you to lust?
Is it your hand that causes you to punch someone or steal something?
Of course not! However, if you put blame on a body part for sinning, it would be better for it to be cut off than to endanger your entire body with the consequences of sin. Similarly, if you blame your friends for bad things you get into trouble with, you should consider cutting off friendships to save yourself from the consequences of your sin. If I am honest with myself about impure thoughts that enter my mind, I can cut off those thoughts and think about things that please God instead. My whole body benefits from this practice.
“I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a girl.” -Job 31:1
If you can’t control the environment you are in, because you can’t move from your home, or stop family members from their practices, how do you cope?
Choose not to react to the environment as expected. Pray for guidance from God. Talk to others who want to do the same as often as possible.
Karyn writes, “I really like this discussion. When think of the word ‘purity’, I think of sexual purity. It is most offen addressed within that context, but God calls us to be pure through and through, not in compartments. I like that this discussion addresses complete purity, not partial. Peolpe excuse certain thoughts and behaviors as being part of sin nature- but if someone has made a commitment to Christ, they are not slave to that nature, we have the tools to be holy, like God- it’s a matter of choosing.”
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