Part 1
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. Matt 6:22 KJV
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye be in single focus, pure, sound, your whole body will be well lighted. The New Testament: An Expanded Translation by Kenneth S. Wuest
Every light source emits light and does not absorb for itself. To the people the Lord addressed, to have a single eye is to have a generous ‘eye’ that sees the needs of others and offers help; to have a bad eye is to be stingy and covetous. The latter is particularly true of the Pharisees who thought and taught that one who is pleasing to and approved of God is the one who has much ‘mammon,’ that is, money or possessions. So they themselves laboured to be wealthy on earth by every and any means to prove this point. By doing so they neglected to lay treasures in heaven vs 19 and could not serve God because no one can serve two masters- God and mammon (an idol) vs 24.
But there is a common thread of thought that runs through the whole of Chapter six of Matthew that is related to having a ‘single eye’. Our application of ‘single eye’ shall be in terms of keeping a single focus; having our eyes set on one thing; not being distracted or having a squinty eye, that looks in different directions; pursuing two or many things at a time. Although every man and woman has been endowed with two eyes yet they should be single in focus and not scattered in many directions. This is the thought we wish to pursue.
#1: A SINGLE EYE ON WHO REWARDS
… that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
… and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Mt 6:2, 4 KJV
A sharp focus on whose reward we desire and long for will constrain our motives and methods. Rewards more or less give great impetus to our activities. There are rewards that men can give but are temporal (even if they will last a life time); but God’s rewards are both temporal and eternal. God’s rewards may not come in the way we expect or may not even be received in a life time but they are nonetheless real and more desirable.
There are three areas of our worship life that Jesus highlighted as very rewarding: i. Almsgiving (Giving generally) ii. Prayer iii. Fasting. Yet, any of these could be done without receiving the reward that comes from God. More often than not our methods reveal our motives and these together determine whose reward we will receive. Jesus seemed to imply that every time we are loud in carrying out any of these ‘religious acts’, attracting the attention of men to what we are doing, it is almost certainly clear whose reward we want to have.
Our methods reveal either faith in God or desperation for man’s help. A man who does his works in secret demonstrates faith in God (which pleases and attracts God) than the one who ‘advertises’ himself.
God is a God in secret. He dwells in the secret place and those who have learnt to abide there shall have God as their rewarder and refuge. God does not make noise- to draw attention to Himself; and in the still small voice He is heard. Our world is generally noisy. Most people are confused, thinking that noise is a measure of success or genuineness. ‘You must blow your own trumpet or no one will blow it for you.’ That is what we hear and Satan also tempts us to believe. But God is closely watching in the secret…to see those whose hearts are in perfect trust in Him, who will do their acts of righteousness in secret, trusting God to reward openly.
Whose rewards do you seek in your giving, praying and fasting? People show off how much they give to others, what should God do? If God were to boast or talk about how much His expenditure is daily, will any of us be able to open our mouths again? Yet, He neither complains nor protests about our daily wastes of His bountiful blessings.
People show off about their prayerfulness- we even call some prayer warriors or intercessors. What should Jesus say? He is the eternal model of prayer; who in the days of His earth walk and in the agony of heart prayed until drops of blood came out of his body. He prayed all night, in the evening, in solitary places and at all times.
And if you boast about fasting who can compare with Christ the risen Lord who even now will not drink of the vine until He receives His Saints in the renewal of things.
Perhaps our hearts will be humbled when we compare ourselves with the Lord, rather than men, to see how much we still need to learn. Then our methods will be bent towards his so that we will not miss his reward.
Will you not guard your heart to ensure you do your acts of worship correctly before God, that He may reward you…openly? Let the generosity of God the Father and the sacrifices of the Son constrain you to humble yourself so that you will not miss the reward of God that mortal man can never impart.