As the Supreme Lawgiver, Jehovah has consistently conveyed clear laws to his people (Isaiah 33:22). Among them are his high moral standards, designed not to restrict us but to preserve our dignity, our joy, and our friendship with Him. “Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be without defilement” (Hebrews 13:4, NWT).

Yet the struggle is real. Desire often comes quietly, uninvited, slipping in through a glance, a memory, or a screen. The apostle Paul used strong words: “Deaden, therefore, your body members that are on the earth as respects sexual immorality, uncleanness, uncontrolled sexual passion” (Colossians 3:5, NWT). That sounds harsh at first — deaden, put to death. But Paul understood that if we don’t take decisive action, desires can grow like weeds in the soil of the heart, choking out faith, love, and peace.

Picture it this way: a house with open doors and no locks, where anything passing by can wander in. That is a life unguarded. But Jehovah asks us to secure the doors, to guard the windows, to take even the smallest thought captive before it grows into something destructive. Job once said: “I have made a covenant with my eyes. So how could I show improper attention to a virgin?” (Job 31:1, NWT). He locked the door at the level of the eyes — before temptation could even enter.

What if we imagined temptation as a flood rushing toward the front steps of our home? We would not casually watch it rise, hoping it doesn’t come in. We would stack barriers, seal the doors, protect those inside. So too, when we face immoral suggestions in music, movies, conversations, or digital feeds, we act swiftly. We don’t toy with danger. We reject it immediately, not because we are strong, but because we belong to Jehovah.

Satan works to weaken our resolve. He whispers that standards are outdated, that no harm is done in secret, that compromise is natural. But Jehovah expects something different: that we be “obedient from the heart” (Romans 6:17, NWT). His guidance is always for our good. “If only you would pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river” (Isaiah 48:18, NWT). That river of peace is deeper and steadier than any fleeting pleasure Satan offers.

So we resolve, like the psalmist, “I have resolved to obey your regulations at all times, down to the last” (Psalm 119:112, NWT). We guard our hearts, not grudgingly, but joyfully — because we know what is at stake. Our loyalty. Our intimacy with Jehovah. Our future in a world where purity will no longer be threatened.

Guarded hearts belong to Jehovah. And in that devotion, we find not loss, but freedom. Not restriction, but safety. Not emptiness, but the fullness of His love.

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Reference: w23.07 14 ¶6-7