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Visual Purity

Visual purity is the intentional practice of guarding the eyes against media and information that can pollute your heart.

I refuse to gaze on that which is vulgar. I despise works of evil people and anything that moves my heart away from you. I will not let evil hold me in its grip.
Psalm 101:3 (TPT)

Why Visual Purity Matters

Visual purity matters because what your eyes see doesn’t just stay in your eyes. It seeps into your heart, shapes your thoughts, fuels your desires, influences your choices and ultimately determines who you become.

Visual purity can help you become who God created you to be, despite living in a world filled with visual distractions, such as videos designed to hook you, ads intended to spark a desire for purchase, or images meant to shock you. It can help you:

  • Protect your heart from visuals that can trigger harmful thoughts and desires like lust, fear, greed, and discontent.
  • Guard your values by ensuring that what you see aligns with your faith and convictions, not just trends.
  • Stay focused and productive by eliminating flashy, shallow, or toxic visuals that can cloud your thinking and weaken your ability to focus on what truly matters.

How to Practice it

  • Guard the eyes. They are doors to your ‘heart’ (your inner self, including your mind, will and emotions). Be careful of what you open them to because sometimes one look is all it takes to stir up temptation.
  • Choose what builds, not breaks. Use Philippians 4:8 as your guide. Watch, read, and engage with content that is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. Follow accounts that inspire you to grow spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Avoid shows, videos, images, or sites that use bad language, encourage violence, or promote pornography or other things that dishonour God.
  • Control your curiosity. Curiosity is powerful, but as the saying goes, “curiosity kills the cat”. This means that being too curious can lead you to trouble. When tempted to search for or watch something questionable, do not let curiosity overshadow discernment and wise judgment. If you must watch something, find a positive, wholesome alternative.
  • Train yourself to look away immediately when you come across inappropriate media and redirect your gaze to something better. It can be difficult to do this at first, but with intentional practice, it will become your default response to sudden exposure to inappropriate media.
  • Develop the habit of looking at good things. Notice everyday blessings. Look at beautiful artwork. Observe God’s creation. Read your bible. When your eyes get used to looking at good things, bad things lose their appeal. It is like filling up on healthy food. When you are satisfied, you are less likely to be lured by junk food.
  • Use content filters on your social media accounts. This will help filter out content with bad language, violence, pornography and some others that can trigger unpleasant emotions and minimize your exposure to them.