Ecclesiastes 6:9 English Standard Version (ESV) Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

The eye is instinctively attracted to what we like. The temptation to look cannot be avoided, it is everywhere. It is almost like the eye has a mind of its own, but it was trained to look by a past we should have left behind.

This is one of those confusing proverbs. It is okay to look but don’t desire. The second half of this line reveals God’s truth. It is vanity to think you are looking without having been tempted in the past by those very things. Examine our actions as we go about in the world and ask ourselves the hard questions. Do we have a roving eye? Are we looking for trouble? Do we enjoy the temptation even if we know we will not give in to it?

The KJV ended this proverb with vexation of spirit. The spirit calls you to righteousness and you have not retrained you mind and eye to ignore that which should have died when we were born again.

It is not a sin to be tempted but that doesn’t give us the right to go looking for it.

Romans 2:21a English Standard Version (ESV) you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?

The truth of God is appropriate for all. As we prepare lessons for others it is inevitable that some of the lessons being taught have not yet been learned by the teacher. This is God’s way of reminding us that we are not perfect in performance and that we need to learn the lesson first before we teach it. Even if we have to learn the lesson as we prepare the lesson plan, we need to take that learning to heart before we share it with others.

If we do not do that then there is an intolerable word that will appear; hypocrite.

Romans 2:21b English Standard Version (ESV) While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

While that sin might not be known to the student, God knows. One does not have to confess it to the students unless God insists. Confessing it before the Lord requires that we commit to Him and ourselves to turn from sin and return to the path of faithfulness.

Surprisingly walk and faith are only mentioned in the same sentence twice in the New Testament. In Romans 4:12 we are encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Abraham, the father of faith. In 2 Corinthians 5:7 is the familiar quote “We walk by faith not by sight.”

In contrast walk and spirit are used in the same sentence 10 times in the New Testament. While it might be noted that walking in the spirit is mentioned 5 times as much as walking by faith, was it noted that the flesh diverted our attention away from the lesson to be learned?

This is what the flesh does. This is like a magic trick, diversion is at the root of all trickery. The flesh does not want us to learn the lesson God is setting before us.

My combat training taught me that distractions indicates proximity to danger.

Stop, look around, and seek what God is saying in those moments.