Part 3
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! Matt 6:22-23 KJV
It is from these verses that our title was picked. These two verses are quite instructive and deep. They summarize all that Jesus had said up to verse 21 and continued in verse 24. We shall approach the verse for our understanding from three angles: Literal, Figurative and Spiritual.
The literal ‘eye’– ‘The lamp of the body is the eye.’ For those who can see well, try to close your two eyes firm; what do you notice? DARKNESS! The eye is indeed a lamp. A lamp gives light so that we can see and be aware of our surroundings. There is no limit to human activities because of the light of the (physical) eye. Decisions, actions and movement are all easy if your eyes are good. But a person with a bad eye is greatly limited.
A man with good eyes has good judgment because of his awareness of his surroundings. He is able to make choices based on knowledge attributable to sight.
It is one thing to be able to see, it is another for the two eyes to have a single focus! To have eyes that are not singular in focus is a defect. This condition can lead to double vision. Somehow the person suffering from this defect will not live a wholesome life. But the one whose eyes are good and single will not suffer any lack.
By inference, one who has a singular focus in his pursuit will do better than the one who is distracted by many things. The former can concentrate his energies and resources for better outcomes than the one who scatters his resources in many directions.
Figurative ‘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.’ To have a good, single eye is to be generous, one that gives to those in need. In the parable of the hired workers, the land owner said, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” Matt 20:15 KJV. The latter part reads, “Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?” in THE MESSAGE translation. Others read ‘jealous’ in place of stingy. So the ‘evil eye’ is stingy, jealous and selfish while the ‘good eye’ is generous, kind and good.
A man is really blessed by what he gives and not just what he receives. This is the way to measure true happiness. By the standard of the Lord, a man who is self-centered is in great darkness. He cannot see others around him that could be helped. Just as one is in darkness when his eyes are closed, but aware of himself, a selfish man, being aware of himself alone, cannot see the needs of others because he is in darkness. To be able to see the need of others and to do something about it is judged by the Lord as having light, a wholesome life!
Spiritual ‘eye’- ‘If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!’ Again, the ‘light’ here refers to the eye. The inward eye is what is implied here; the eye of the heart. To make this clear we shall consider two brief examples.
“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” 2 Peter 2:14-15 KJV. This simply describes how great the darkness is when a man’s spiritual eye is blind or in darkness. It is a heart that cannot discern God. It is not aware of God’s presence and cannot connect to Him. It can only sense sin and unrighteousness which they term ‘gain’.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:11 KJV
Whereas the first passage speaks of a stark unbeliever, the other relates to professing Christian, who is no Christian at all. One who accommodates hatred for his brother; not desiring any good thing toward his fellow pilgrim is a murderer. He is still in his sin and in darkness. His heart is full of darkness because it is selfish.
To be single eyed is to be generous, compassionate, kind and good towards others. It is to deliberately open ones heart to feel, bond and glue to the needs of others so much so one may be used by God to meet those needs. A bad eye is directly opposite. Is your eye single or evil?