Matthew 6:22-23 22The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is single, your whole body will be shining, 23but if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Jesus illustrates his teaching about money and priorities. The image of the eyes and the light they receive is simple to understand. The critical issue in these verses is the condition of the eyes and what they see. Good eyesight impacts so much else in our lives. Those who wear glasses or contact lenses know how important clear vision is.
Spiritual blindness results when we look at the wrong thing. We can be fooled by the mirage of materialism. The world’s empty promises blind us to what Jesus wants for us. Which is better, following the path of our own choosing or the one prepared for us by our Creator? We need to examine where our focus lies. The terms “values” or “worldview” reveal the things important to people. We can tell what is important to people with how they spend their time and money. Double vision can lead to injury and eventually even blindness. Compromise in what we value (“worship”) can lead to spiritual blindness, sin, and judgment.
If the eyes of our heart are blind, we cannot receive Christ’s direction and know what is best for us. Another way to say this simply is that what is important to us comes from the world, which is heavily influenced by selfishness, pride, and fleshly desires. We have a choice between two paths: light or darkness. Which ever way we choose will influence how we live. The kind of light we need comes from only Jesus. We must have single vision, eyes for only one person. As followers of Jesus, we get our directions and priorities from him. We must let the priorities of God’s kingdom become our priorities.
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