Bouncing the Eyes

In Chapter 11, the authors of Everyman's Battle expand on the "bouncing the eyes" strategy for achieving sexual purity. Arterburn and Stoeker describe "bouncing the eyes": "The problem is that your eyes have always bounced toward the sexual, and you've made no attempt to end this habit. To combat it, you need to build a reflex action by training your eyes to immediately bounce away from the sexual, like the jerk of your hand away from a hot stove." Our main problem is that we "linger": we keep our eyes where they shouldn't be for longer than they should. That helps us to remember later and that gets us in trouble. It's like - in the old days - keeping the camera shutter open long enough to embed the image on the film. Once the image is on the film, it's there forever.

The authors admit that "bouncing" isn't easy, but offer some guidance:

When you start bouncing your eyes, your body will fight against you in peculiar, unexpected ways. Sexual sin has an addictive nature, and your body will not want to give up on its pleasures. You'll have to creatively respond in your quest for purity, and you do that through these two logical steps:
   1. Study yourself. How and where are you attacked most?
   2. Define your defense for each of the greatest enemies you've identified.

Your first step is listing your own "greatest enemies." What are the most obvious and prolific sources of sensual images....Where do you look most often? Where are you weakest?

Defining your defense is important. We must always rely on the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. That's first. But we can do other things to help fight the battle. As the authors mention, identify your "attackers." Are they lingerie ads, females at the office, movies, pornography? Figure this out. Once you figure this out, define your defense. Use web filters, remove browsers from your devices, switch to a flip phone. Avert you eyes when a woman bends over. If bikinis are an issue, stare at the sand or don't go to the beach. Remember how important the state of your soul is: "And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell..." (Mark 9:47).