Doing Whatever Is Right in My Own Eyes
I recently finished up a few months of bible study in the book of Judges. I was blown away by the riches of this Old Testament book that so many of us overlook. I have a tendency to primarily study New Testament books, so it was really good for me to spend some extended time in the Old Testament. The book Judges for You, by Tim Keller, was an excellent help to me.
One of the most common themes in the book of Judges is the idea of “doing what is right in my own eyes.”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” Judges 14:3
Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes. Judges 14:7
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 17:6, 21:25
Here’s the problem… our eyesight stinks. What is right in my own eyes is often wrong in every other way.
If I want to binge on food, I will binge. Your sin is so much worse than adultery/pornography/"fill in the blank" sin.
If I want to spend money, I will spend it. That’s why I have a credit card.
If I want to look at pornography, I will indulge. It’s not hurting anyone.
Everyone else is having sex before they’re married, so why shouldn’t I?
God made me this way. Why would He give me this desire if I can’t use it?
If my wife would only have more sex with me, then I wouldn’t need to cheat on her.
Bottom Line: It’s my life - I can do what I want. When I want. With who I want.
We each have the tendency to do what is right in our own eyes and often times, our decisions lead to pain, broken relationships and tears. In the process, we pick and choose from God’s Word what we want to follow and often choose to go the wrong way.
This was very clear to me in our recent Merge weekend class when a few of the guys in the room rolled their eyes at the idea of purity. In God’s eyes, purity is best. In the eyes of these guys, God’s Word and 'the call to purity' didn’t fit in with their desires. So they will continue to do what is right in their own eyes. While it might feel good for them in the short-term, doing what is right in their own eyes will ultimately hurt their relationship with the Lord and with their significant other.
So what do we do about it?
1. What does God’s Word say?
If it’s in the Word, then you don’t need to pray about it. You obey. For example, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you don’t need to pray about whether or not you should stop having sex or stop living with your girlfriend. The answer is no, or even better - not yet. Get married, live together and have lots of sex.
2. What does your community say?
Proverbs 13:20 says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Walk with wise men and women and do what is right in the eyes of the Lord as you receive godly encouragement from His people.
3. Ask yourself some honest questions:
What are my justifications and reasons for choosing to do what is right in my own eyes? Is it selfishness, ignorance, apathy? Something else? What makes me think I can pick and choose from God’s Word what I will follow? Why do I believe that my ‘eyesight’ is better than the One whose eyes “run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him?” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
I get it. I really do. No one likes to be told what to do and we often think we see things clearly. The reality is that our eyesight is diminished and we cannot see things clearly (see Matthew 7:3-5, 1 Corinthians 13:12). Our greatest hope is as we continue to know Jesus more and more (Philippians 3:10), that our eyesight will align with His and we will choose to do what is right in His eyes.