WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU BE

Welcome back to my little corner of the internet, where I ramble about faith, old beliefs, and a bit of science. Today I want to share with you something that's been like a “bee in my bonnet.” Think about the incredible (and sometimes weird) ways that what we see can influence our lives. It's like that old saying, "You are what you eat," but for your eyes, it’s "You are what you behold." Let's take a sobering look at how things we see can mess with our minds.

I stumbled across this verse in the Psalms years ago, and it has stayed with me through much of my life. It says, "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes" (101:3, KJV). King David is basically making a personal life decision here, vowing to keep his vision pure. In a world full of distractions, like a Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop, or endless social media scrolls, binge-worthy shows with questionable content, or even just the daily news grind, it's a reminder that our eyes are gateways to our souls. What we choose to look at isn't just passive. It shapes our thoughts, our character, and maybe even our reality.

I've been trying to apply this in my own life. Like, instead of doom-scrolling through negativity, I've been curating my feed with uplifting art, nature pics, scriptures, watching my fowls in the poultry yard, and inspiring quotes. It's not about being prudish or “holier than thou.” It's about intentionality. Because if David's words hold water, letting "wicked" stuff into one’s mind could subtly warp how we see the world and ourselves.

Speaking of biblical eye-openers (pun intended), take a look back at the story of Jacob in Genesis. This was the guy who tricked his brother out of his birthright and then got a taste of his own medicine from his uncle Laban? In Genesis 30, Jacob strikes a deal with his uncle, his mother’s brother. Wow! Wait a minute. Remember Jacob’s mom?! She is the conniver behind the sneakiness of Jacob in duping his dad, Isaac! She was the one who heard her husband plan with Esau to give him the family birthright. It was she who conceived and planted the idea in Jacob to swindle the birthright from Esau. It seems deception ran in her family. It would be interesting to peek into her family background to see where they actually picked up that spirit of deception. That is probably worth looking into in a later blog. But, back to the initial thought. Jacob agreed to tend Laban's flocks and keep the speckled, spotted, and ringstraked (that's old-timey for streaked or striped) animals as his wages. But Laban pulls a fast one and removes all those from the herd, leaving Jacob with plain ones. This was a plan to remove all the genetic basis for those colors to crop up in the flocks.

Jacob doesn't give up, though. He gets crafty with some poplar, hazel, and chestnut branches, peeling them to create white streaks, making them "ringstraked." He places these at the watering troughs where the animals drink and mate. Lo and behold, the flocks start producing speckled and striped offspring. Was it magic? Divine intervention? Or an early idea based on visual stimuli influencing behavior? This happened at the feeding and drinking trough where reproduction often occurred. This makes me understand why it is so important to exercise caution when turning over a church pulpit to speakers. What is set before the flock will highly influence those sitting in the pew before the feeding trough.

Scholars debate this. Some say it's folk science, others point to genetics, but the core idea is fascinating. What the animals saw during key moments seemed to affect the outcome. It's like Jacob bio-engineered his fortune through sight. Makes you wonder if our own "feeding troughs" (TV and computer screens) are influencing what we "produce" in life.

This visual influence thing isn't just biblical. Ever heard the old saying about pregnant women "marking" their baby? Some of you who are from my generation probably have. Back in the day (and honestly, some grandmas still swear by it), people believed that what a mom-to-be saw or craved could physically imprint on her baby. Stare at a strawberry too long? And voila, strawberry-shaped birthmark. Frightened by a mouse? Your kid might end up with a furry mole on the side of his or her cheek.

It's called "maternal impression," and while modern science debunks it as superstition, there's a kernel of truth in how stress or emotions during pregnancy can affect fetal development. But psychologically, it's a nod to how deeply we internalize visuals. If even our ancestors thought a glance could shape a life, it underscores that age-old wisdom to be mindful of your surroundings, especially in vulnerable times.

But what happens when our visual processing goes haywire? Enter prosopagnosia, aka "face blindness." This is a neurological condition where people struggle to recognize faces, even those of loved ones or themselves in a mirror. It's not about poor eyesight. It's a brain glitch in the fusiform face area of the brain, which is a specialized region for processing facial features.

Imagine being at a party or a church service where everyone looks like a stranger. Famous folks like Brad Pitt, the actor, and neurologist Oliver Sacks have spoken about living with it. Sacks even mistook his own reflection for someone else! Prosopagnosia can be congenital or acquired from brain injury, and it highlights just how crucial visual input is to our social world.

If "setting no wicked thing before our eyes" is about protecting our inner world, prosopagnosia shows the flip side. It could potentially show what happens when someone continually views the wicked thing. They may border on becoming as reprobate silver. The phrase “reprobate silver” comes from the Bible, specifically Jeremiah 6:30 (KJV), which says: “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.” I for one do not want God to send a strong delusion upon me.

As if that was not bad enough, here's where things get even more unsettling. Ever find yourself glued to the TV or your phone, watching the same news stories loop over and over? Whether it's a natural disaster, a political scandal, or a crime wave, the constant replay of certain topics can do more than inform. It can rewire how you think. Psychologists call this the "mere exposure effect," where repeated exposure to something makes you more likely to accept it as true or normal. In extreme cases, it can feel like brainwashing.

News outlets often frame stories in specific ways, using charged language or dramatic visuals to hook you. If you're constantly watching reports about, say, rising crime rates, your brain might start overestimating the danger in your own neighborhood, even if statistics say otherwise. This is called "availability bias", when vivid, repeated images make certain ideas dominate your thinking. Pair that with the echo chamber of social media, where algorithms feed you more of what you’ve already seen, and it’s like Jacob’s ringstraked branches on steroids. Your mental "offspring" (aka your beliefs and fears) start to reflect what’s been set before your eyes.

I noticed this once when my son’s daughters were younger. They were outside playing when they suddenly came tearing into the house screaming, “Child molester! Child molester!” Their mom asked them what was wrong. They said they saw a white van coming down their street. They had either been told or seen movies of child molesters driving white vans until they had come to associate all white vans with child molesters. That got me to take a second look at how many news reports I was watching each day. I was so bombarded with stories about global conflicts that I started feeling anxious about things I’d never worried about before. It took a conscious effort to step back, limit my news intake, and seek out primary sources or firsthand accounts to balance my perspective. It’s not about ignoring reality. It’s about not letting someone else’s framing hijack your mind.

From David's vow to Jacob's branch trick, the old beliefs of baby-marking, the reality of prosopagnosia, and the sneaky influence of repetitive news cycles, it's clear. Our eyes aren't just windows. They're architects of our experiences. In a hyper-visual age, maybe we should all take a page from these stories and be more deliberate about what we let in. Pay extremely close attention to your visual diet, like you would your food. Choose nourishing over toxic.

What about you? Have you ever noticed how a beautiful view lifted your mood, a creepy image stuck with you, or a news story changed how you see the world? Drop your thoughts in the comments! Until next time, keep your gaze on the good stuff.