All sin starts in the heart. We all need to be aware that no one means to get addicted to sex or porn. Before this Scripture is made clear to us, we can imagine that we are sinless as long as we don’t actually commit a sex act. This philosophy would open the door for people to start looking at people lustfully without any warning. This Scripture is trying to help us see that looking opens the door to addiction.

Some negate this Scripture by trying to say their looking isn’t motivated by lust. All they succeed in doing is removing this protective Scriptural mechanism from their life. A Scripture that would have protected them from going down a path of slavery has been removed. No matter how hard David tried to undo his error, it just kept coming at him. Where did he make his mistake? When he looked out the window and saw Bathsheba, he had to be spiritually ready to turn his eyes and go somewhere else. Was he ready? No. Because he wasn’t spiritually ready, his life started down a very dark path.

Mat 24:43 (NIV) But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

This Scripture is dealing with the coming of our Lord. He is talking here about being ready all the time. Just like we don’t know when Jesus is going to come back, we don’t know when we are going to face a major temptation.

The keeping watch in this Scripture applies to every aspect of our lives. When temptation was coming Peter’s way, Jesus told him to watch and pray.

Mat 26:41 (NIV) Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.

We all have to have a watchful eye looking for potential pitfalls. Does this magazine, TV program, situation, or thought have the potential of dragging me into a sin? As we flip through a magazine, channels on the TV, walk through life, or sit day dreaming, we have to be ready to act. But, none of that will work without prayer. It takes using the power of the Holy Spirit as we watch. Just a slight moment of curiosity, a nanosecond of delay, can start us down the dark path. We need God’s mighty power that comes through prayer for protection. Only He can give us the power to properly react to a potential problem.

Satan may trick you into believing that because you are a mature Christian and a minister you are too spiritual to fall for sexual temptation. You may feel such power from God that it seems like you can now look at things you couldn’t look at before. You may fall for the temptation offered to Jesus when Satan told Him to JUMP throw Himself down off of highest point of the temple. Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” There is a big difference in the protection and power of God dealing with things you ACCIDENTLY see, and things you PURPOSELY look at.