Do You Have Good Eyes?

Eyes, Lamps, and Light

In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus is in the process of teaching his disciples various truths about the kingdom of heaven. And in the middle of his sermon, Jesus begins to teach his disciples about their eyes. He says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.”

Now, for many people, Jesus’s words here can be a bit confusing. Because we don’t often think of our eyes as something that literally emits light. And it may seem strange to talk about someone’s body being full of light, as opposed to being filled with darkness. But when we take a moment to consider Jesus’s words here carefully, he is unpacking a simple truth that is timelessly relevant – and enormously important for our spiritual health.

When Jesus says, “the eye is the lamp of the body,” he’s explaining that the eye is important for bringing new information and new thoughts to a person. And information that is morally good, accurate, and beneficial is described here as “light.” Of course, we also gain information by listening, and by gaining muscle memory as we practice new skills with our hands. But Jesus here is explaining his analogy here in terms of good sight or bad sight – so that’s why he speaks exclusively here about the eyes.

Healthy Eyes or Bad Eyes?

And Jesus comments, “If your eye is healthy (functioning properly and soundly), then your whole body will be full of light.” In other words, if your eye is doing what it’s supposed to be doing – if your eye is focusing its attention on good input, that directs your thoughts to God and his truth – then your body will be filled with light. Your desires, more and more, will be changed for the better. Your words will become more edifying. Your understanding of God will be sharpened and expanded. If we are using our eyes the way God intends, our body should be filled more and more with light.

But then Jesus goes on to say, “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” If you’re instead using your eyes to binge watch unwholesome television, or to scroll through the word vomit of social media, or to gaze upon indecent images, then there will be consequences. Your desires will become even more lewd and out-of-control. Temptations will arise more often. Dirty thoughts and ideas will continuously plague you. If your eye is bad – if it’s being used the wrong way, looking at the wrong things – your whole body will be full of darkness.

And Jesus laments, then, in the second half of verse 23, “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” In other words, if the things you are prizing and prioritizing with your eyes are garbage – if the closest thing you have to “light” and insight is nothing but moral darkness, then the darkness within you must be even darker.

What Are You Looking At?

So practically, how should Jesus’s words here affect us? What should we do about all this? To put it simply, you and I need to be extremely careful what we set before our eyes. The things we observe – the people and ideas we set our eyes on – will either lead us into God’s light, or into greater darkness. We mustn’t fool ourselves into thinking that we can watch things (viewing explicit movie scenes) or read things (murder mysteries with perverse plot lines) without those ideas affecting us. Because the Son of God authoritatively states here that the opposite is true.

When we use our eyes well, they can bring much good. But when we use our eyes wrongly, the consequences can be disasterous. There is a spiritual war waging, to determine who will govern the real estate of our eyesight. Don’t lose the battle. Don’t give yourself over to the enemy. But if you have eyes to see, than consider the words of Christ, here – and make a personal resolution to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (cf. Matthew 6:33). The light of his kingdom is worth more than 10,000 darknesses.

Something Worth Seeing

So look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1-2). Turn your eyes to him, and seek his light. Fill yourself with it – fill yourself with Christ himself. Give your attention to the Scriptures. Surround yourself with a Bible-believing church. You’ll be glad you did.