Loving the Word and keeping pure

The psalmist poses a question in psalm 119:9, ‘how can a young man keep his way pure?’ And then he answers his own question, ‘by living according to your word’. In our visual sensual age where ungodly images are being propagated openly, that it almost becomes impossible to avoid, how can a young man keep his way pure? 


Women who dress immodestly, aiming to entice men to gaze upon them; how can a young man keep his way pure from being enticed by them? To these questions, I have but one answer and it is the same as that of the psalmist which is by living according to your word. The psalmist goes on to say that ‘Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you’ v11. This is the key to how a young man can keep his way pure amidst the numerous visual temptations that surrounds him. Simple meditation on the sweet delight of scripture will be ample to sustain one’s urges from falling prey to the devilish pleasure of fleshly lust. Peter writes in 1 peter 3:15 ‘But in your heart set apart Christ as Lord’. If Christ is set apart as Lord in our hearts then his desires will rule us and our eyes will be healthy, though temptations may surround us we will not yield to it because something else is ruling our hearts. 


It is important that meditation on the word of God becomes part of our daily diet because it is the water for our thirsty souls; and the word is made alive by the Spirit in us which stirs and delights our souls because we see Christ Jesus.  The longer one does not eat one remains hungry, then every kind of food brought to him becomes desirable; but when one is full, even honey is not desired, so it is with us when we are satiated with the word of God and full of it, that now, the desires of the things of this world which are opposed to scripture becomes undesirable. But it is to be said with great sadness that many unlike the psalmist cannot say that ‘with my whole heart I have sought you. Oh, let me not wander from your commandments’v 10. But rather we seek many things and do not set Christ as Lord in our hearts and we see reading the bible as something we have to do as a Christian duty rather than delighting and enjoying reading the word which is all about Jesus.


I pray for me and for us all that like the psalmist we may say ‘Blessed are you , O LORD! Teach me your statutes, with my lips I have declared all the judgements of your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and contemplate your ways. I will delight myself in your statues, I will not forget your word’, v12-16.


So how can a young man keep his way pure? I believe you now know the answer to that question.


K.Oni