“I will not set my eyes upon anything that is useless.

The work of transgressors I hate;

It will not cling to me.”

(Psalm 101:3)

To begin with, some clarity needs to be given to the language of setting your eyes on a thing. The psalmist is not saying that he will never see something that is useless. That would be impossible to control as useless things are often thrust in our face while we are unaware. Who can control a casual glance? What David is stating is that he will never fix his attention on things that are worthless. He will never ponder such things. He will never give his eyes over to the study of such useless things. Why? He is preoccupied with the things of God. The point is simple; one of the best ways to control our actions and thoughts so we can focus on eternal things is to control what we give our attention to.

But of what does David speak when he mentions “useless” things? The Hebrew word in question is בְלִיַּעַל (beliyya’al). In Hebrew, it means to be “good for nothing” or to be prone to mischief and evildoing. It refers to things or people that are nothing but troublemakers. For instance, the sons of Eli were referred to as “worthless men” because they abused the power of their priestly position for their own ends (1 Samuel 2:12). When Jezebel sought to steal Naboth’s vineyard for her husband, she hired worthless men to condemn him of cursing God and the king (1 Kings 21:10). At the end of his life, David would later say that such worthless men are like thorns to be thrown away (2 Samuel 23:6). 

By the time we get to the Greek New Testament, בְלִיַּעַל (beliyya’al) had taken on a life of its own, as it were, and was often personified as a demon. Hence we get the word Βελιάρ (Beliar), which is most commonly translated as Belial (see 2 Corinthians 6:15). So, the demonic symbol of unbelief derives from the notion of that which is worthless and good for nothing. Indeed, much of the destruction and perversion of society can be attributed to unbelief. David is committing that he will guard his eyes from contemplating anything that would lead to such worthless destruction.

What is the result of keeping guard against unbelief? He hates the work of sinners — or he hates the work done in sin. Paul will write that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). The corollary to that, then, is that we should hate all works that do not an cannot proceed from faith. Yet, how often do we allow ourselves to be given to such matters? And, what is the result? The work of the wicked tends to stick to us, at least metaphorically. In our contemporary age, we sometimes use the phrase: “garbage in — garbage out.” If we consistently feed our lives with worldly things, our lives will develop a worldly character. If we set our attention on worthless things, we will grow worthless. Yet, if we set our minds on the things of God, we will grow in godliness. David says that he will meditate on the things of God so that he does not become like the worthless men who bring nothing but destruction.