1John2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
LUST OF THE EYES
Recently, I told the story of a man who looked at a lady that was seductively dressed while walking on the road. He looked on not knowing there was an electric pole ahead. He didn't stop looking until he collided with the pole. That's a simple example of how lust of the eyes operates. We have said in previous teaching that lust is inordinate desire. Uncontrolled looking can stir lust in the heart. Lust of the eyes is the inordinate desire to possess what we see or to have those things which have visual appeal. We live in a world of visual appeal. The adverts you see on t.v., trending fashion and designs, are designed to stir lust in you so that you can run after those things and make them your prime pursuit.
The first sin lust of the eyes trigger in us is covetousness. The devil makes us to focus on the world and the things in it so that we can covet them. The moment covetousness sets in, desperation to possess follows. The foolishness of covetousness is that it desires things that doesn't last, things that fade off and become irrelevant with time. Some of those who lived in the 60s&70s used the Volkswagen beetles car. They were the big boys of that time. Some stole money and defrauded people to buy that car. Today, if anyone takes pride in owning that brand and model of Volkswagen, they'll see him/her as backward because there are modern cars with better functions. Unfortunately, what you call "modern, new model and trendy" today shall fade off and become unappealing tomorrow yet that is what the devil is making many to labour, steal and kill for.
In the decalogue, God addressed the lust of the eyes in its prohibition against coveting. Exodus 20:17 commands, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Coveting can include a desire to have people, possessions, or status. The tactic of Satan is to use a visual image to trap us. He did it to Eve and she fell. Eve looked at the forbidden fruit and saw that it was “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 3:6). He tried the same tactic on Jesus, he “showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (Matthew 4:8). He then promised to give them to Jesus—for a price. Satan won't stop using this trick to get believers. Those whose hearts are not set on things above will always be trapped, they'll find themselves in endless pursuit of whatever they see. The antidote is to shift focus: "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." ( Col3:2).
Fix your gaze on Jesus and you'll never be trapped: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."( Heb12:2).