"I have made a covenant with my eyes.
How then could I look at a young woman?"
Job 31:1 CSB
Job has been under ruthless attack from Satan and has been defending his integrity against his friends who have been accusing him of wickedness and evil. We know from the testimony of Jehovah God Himself that Job is a righteous and blameless man. God has in fact chosen Job because of his uprightness. Job is described by God as one who fears Him and turns away from evil. This makes Job a perfect person to learn from when it comes to self-control.
How we view life is how we live life. That is why perspective is so important. When you study the topic of self-control you quickly see that perspective matters. The perspective(s) that we know and use in our daily life will significantly impact whether or not we give in to our lusts and passions or are able to tame them with self-control.
Job 31:1 makes it obvious to me one reason why Job was so successful in living in integrity before the Lord. Job made a covenant with his eyes. Job set a perspective and established a worldview based upon a covenant. A covenant is a promise In the truest sense of the word. It is a commitment that is made to not be broken. Period. This was Job's worldview. This was Job's life perspective.
Job rhetorically asks, "How then could I look at a young woman?". The idea here is to look upon another woman with lust. To desire her company in an inappropriate way. He poses this question in a way that sounds as though it's impossible. Of course, we know that it is possible for people to see things they shouldn't see, and think things they shouldn't think, and do things they shouldn't do, but Job here is speaking of it as though it's an impossibility. How? Why? Because of his integrity.
The integrity of Job was so resolute that once he made a covenant then it was as if it was impossible to break the covenant. That's the degree of faith and faithfulness possessed by Job. He possessed his vessel. He possessed his covenant. He possessed his integrity. And therefore, he did not sin in this manner (or any of the others he was accused of, or speaks of, in the chapter).
January 1st, 2023, a lot of people were making New Year's Covenants. Making resolutions to think in better ways, to do better things, to be a better person. What we often lack, are not good ideas, but the integrity and resolve of heart to follow through. To make a resolution without resolve is useless. To make a covenant without integrity is meaningless. Knowing that truth reveals to ourselves what we need to work on personally.
Do you want to have better self-control in 2023 and beyond? Make a covenant and devote your life to possess resolve, integrity, and endurance (perseverance) to fulfill that covenant like Job did. This is the key to "success" when it comes to true and lasting change. This is the not-so-secret secret to self-control. Live life with a Covenant Perspective, and may the grace and strength of Jehovah God help you to do just that! Amen.
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