Distorted Vision

Matthew 6:22-23 

"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole 

body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body 

shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in 

thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"   

    The eye is regarded as the window by which the light gets into the whole body. The state of a window decides what light gets into a room. If the window is clear, clean, and undistorted, the light will come flowing into the room, and will illuminate every corner of it. If the glass of the window is colored or frosted, distorted, dirty, or obscure, the light will be hindered, and the room will not be lit up. 

    The amount of light that gets into a room depends on the window. So, what Jesus is saying here is the light which gets into any man's heart and soul and being depends on the spiritual state of the eye through which it has to pass, for the eye is the window of the whole body. However, the Scripture also reads: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  Translated from Greek (Haplous), means single, simplicity, absence of folds. To the christian this involves "prudence," knowing how to deal with fellow humans and the circumstances of life. Therefore we as Christians are supposed to be not only (Haplous), single without duplicity. The view we take "of people" depends on the kind of eye we have. There are certain obvious things which can blind our eyes and distort our vision. 

    Prejudice can distort our vision: There is nothing that destroys a man's judgment as prejudice does. It prevents us from forming the clear, reasonable and logical judgment which it is the duty of any man to form. Prejudice is like a blindfold it blinds us from the facts. One of the most necessary things in life is the fearless self-examination which will enable us to see when we are acting on principle and when we are the victims of our own unreasonable and unreasoning prejudices. In any man who is swayed by prejudice the eye is darkened and the vision distorted. 
    Jealousy can distort our vision: Many marriages and many friendships have been destroyed because of jealousy, and perfectly innocent incidents turned into guilty actions, and which blinded the eye to truth and fact of the matter.
    Self-conceit can distort our vision: Self-conceit doubly affects a man's vision, for it renders him incapable of seeing himself as he really is, and incapable of seeing others as they really are. If a man is convinced of his own wisdom, he will never be able to realize his own foolishness; and if he is blind to everything except his own virtues, he will never be aware of his own faults. 
    My Friends, Whenever we compare our self with others, we will do so to our own advantage, and to their disadvantage. We will be forever incapable of self-criticism, and therefore forever incapable of self-improvement. The light in which we should see our self and see others will be darkness.
Amen!

Reading: Matt: 6:22-23
               Luke  11:34-36
Ref: HG SB; DSB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry