"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee."
Proverbs 4:25
This verse, and the verses after it, talk about focusing on and thinking about our path and staying away from evil. I liked this first part about just the eyes because it reminded me of Matthew 6:22, which says in part "... if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." (see also 3 Nephi 13:22, Luke 11:34). We know that elsewhere in the scriptures we're commanded to love God, and to put him first in our lives, and if we do "all these things shall be added unto you" (3 Nephi 13:33).
The challenge then, is keeping our eyes straight before us, focused on God. It is so easy to get distracted and glance away, and then forget to come back, lose our focus, and wander off the path. But the more we can keep that focus, making sure we are always facing God and looking at him, the more everything else will work out.
How do we do that? Good question. I think part of it is remembering that God comes before we do. We get that backwards a lot, thinking it is us, then our family, then our friends, and then God, or family first, or something else first, like our toys or our job or or almost anything. If we have our priorities backwards, then it is easy to get angry at God for not protecting whatever we are putting first... because obviously that matters more than he does. But if we have our priorities straight, with God at the top of the list, then we can rely on Ezra Taft Benson's words from April 1988: "When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives."
Today, let's keep our eyes looking right on, focused on our Savior. Let's take time for God, and not get distracted and off course because of all of the daily details. God wants us to be able to handle our lives and take care of our families of course. He isn't asking us to drop everything else in the dust, but if focusing on God is causing some things to shuffle around in our lives, let's relax, and let them. Our job is to stay focused on what matters, and as we do that, God will help everything else work out... not always the way we wanted it to, but the way it should.
Proverbs 4:25
This verse, and the verses after it, talk about focusing on and thinking about our path and staying away from evil. I liked this first part about just the eyes because it reminded me of Matthew 6:22, which says in part "... if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." (see also 3 Nephi 13:22, Luke 11:34). We know that elsewhere in the scriptures we're commanded to love God, and to put him first in our lives, and if we do "all these things shall be added unto you" (3 Nephi 13:33).
How do we do that? Good question. I think part of it is remembering that God comes before we do. We get that backwards a lot, thinking it is us, then our family, then our friends, and then God, or family first, or something else first, like our toys or our job or or almost anything. If we have our priorities backwards, then it is easy to get angry at God for not protecting whatever we are putting first... because obviously that matters more than he does. But if we have our priorities straight, with God at the top of the list, then we can rely on Ezra Taft Benson's words from April 1988: "When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives."
Today, let's keep our eyes looking right on, focused on our Savior. Let's take time for God, and not get distracted and off course because of all of the daily details. God wants us to be able to handle our lives and take care of our families of course. He isn't asking us to drop everything else in the dust, but if focusing on God is causing some things to shuffle around in our lives, let's relax, and let them. Our job is to stay focused on what matters, and as we do that, God will help everything else work out... not always the way we wanted it to, but the way it should.
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