I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.
Job 31:1, NKJV
Job was miserable. In the blink of an eye, he lost his fortune, his family, and his fitness, but at least he still had his friends—if that’s the right word for people who are always there for you in a crisis so they can blame you for it. Trying to make sense of Job’s pain by launching the granddaddy of circular arguments, his friends only manage to engender defensiveness.
In asserting his virtue, Job claims that he and his eyes had struck an accord—as though his eyes were an entity unto themselves with whom he could negotiate. They had agreed not to stare at women with sexual desire. In a “look but don’t touch” world, they signed a “don’t even look” treaty. Millions of men need to meet their eyes for lunch and sign the same deal.