Today's Devotion
The Second Look
“One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.”
2 Samuel 11:2
David sees something he wasn't looking for. The seeing wasn't the sin—what he did next was.
Temptation is not sin. David didn't sin by noticing; we can't always control what crosses our path. But there's a difference between the first glance and the second look. Martin Luther is often quoted as saying, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair." David let the bird build a nest. He let a glance become a gaze, and a gaze become a plan. Sin grows when it's fed in secret. What we keep looking at, we begin to want; what we keep wanting, we eventually take.
Practice
What are you giving a "second look"? It might be a screen, an endless scroll, a relationship, or a fantasy you keep rehearsing when no one's watching. You may not be able to stop the first glance, but you can decide—right now—what you'll do with the second. Today, name your "second look," and put a guardrail in place before you're ever standing on the rooftop.
Prayer
Lord, guard my eyes and my mind. When temptation comes, give me the strength to look away instead of lingering. I don't want to feed in secret what would destroy me in the open. Help me starve what I should not want. Amen.