Tackling The Talk- Protecting the eyes

The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness… Matthew 6:22-23 NIV

It has been said that they eyes are the window to the soul.  In terms of tackling the talk with my boys, this quote has oft troubled me.

A mama does not have to look far to see things she wishes her sons did not.

~little girls in skimpy Halloween costumes

~barely there bathing suits at the community pool

~suggestive clothing and poses in “family-friendly” films

~billboards on the side of the highway advertising all types of “adult” establishments

What is a mom of sons to do when the world is full of images that can taint the innocence and purity of her young boy’s soul?

For starters, when crafting the message we want our boys to receive about sexuality, the protection of their eyes, those windows to the soul, must be an integral theme in our message.

• Teach your boys about the importance of eye contact.  Boys from a young age should be taught this important social skill.  Little do they know at three or four that in addition to manners, you are training their eyes to focus upward.  This will help them protect their eyes as they age and temptation begins it’s sly attack on their soul.
• Teach your boys to avert their eyes.  When I am speaking to an audience I have learned to pick 2 or 3 safe spots (it may be a smiling face or an inanimate object, like a clock) to focus my eyes on and maintain my composure while speaking.  This also minimizes distractions.  This same concept can be helpful to boys in protecting their eyes.  My boys know to look away from an offensive image in a subtle way and to look for something “safe” to focus on.  For example, if a sales clerk is wearing something revealing my boys know to walk away while I complete the transaction.  If that is not possible then they know to make eye contact and focus on her hair-do.  If an offensive image comes on television they press the recall button, which my hubby has programmed to go to a “safe” channel.
• Teach your boys to respect their eyes. So many times, we talk in terms of respect for women and girls.  And, of course, that is important.  But, our sons also need to realize that these messages we send about sexuality are for their benefit most of all.  As boys get older they need to be told stories of men who have fallen to the temptation of pornography and sexual addiction.  It is okay for our boys to understand the consequence of immoral behavior.  If they grasp that significance they are far more likely to understand our desire to teach them to protect their eyes and most importantly, protect their souls.

Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body.  Those leering looks you think no one notices- they also corrupt.  Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is.  If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do. You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer.  You have to choose to live one eyed or else be dumped on a moral trashpile.  Matthew 5:28-29 MSG

What are some ways you protect your son’s eyes?

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While you’re protecting their eyes, you can build them up through their ears!

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• Tackling The Talk- Thankful for the message
• Tackling “the talk”
• Tackling the “talk”, part 2