Allen Raynor Weblog:
“How Do You See Things?”
(Jan. 24, 2019)
A man was
planning a visit to New York City and he asked a friend who knew the city well
to tell him what kind of city New York really was. The friend told him that New York is both the
best city in America and the worst city; he told him it would depend on what he
looked for. In New York he could find
some of the most beautiful churches in the world. He could hear some of the greatest preachers. He could see in the art galleries some of the
most beautiful paintings. He could hear
some of the world’s most glorious music played there. He could attend some of the finest dramatic
productions the world affords. He could
eat in some of the nicest restaurants.
Indeed, if he looked for it, he could find in New York the good and the
beautiful and the true. His friend told
him on the other hand, in that same city, he could find some of the worst
slums. He could see some of the most
hardened criminals. He could visit some
of the cheapest and the most vulgar night clubs. There he could associate with people who had
sunk to the lowest level of life in every respect. If he wanted to look for it, he could find
New York to be the very worst city there is.
Therefore, whether his visit to New York was to be one of joy and
inspiration, or one of despair and discouragement, ultimately depended on what
he looked for.
People will
often refer to something (politics; economy; a news story; a personal story;
etc.) by saying “The way I see it . . .” then they will go on to share their
opinion (give their 2 cents worth). The way
people see things is based on such factors as their experience, their stage in
life, their perspective, and much more.
All of our senses come into play when we try and “perceive” or
understand something. Perhaps, none of
our senses plays a bigger role than our sight (seeing). A person may not believe what another one is
telling them and, as a sort of “proof that no one can argue with” one blurts
out with frustration “I have seen it with my own eyes.” I have made the statement on a few occasions
myself that “I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own
eyes.”
People in
ancient times saw things much like we see them, but they were much more
superstitious where the “eye” was concerned.
Today we can look at eyes, examine them, get corrective lenses, treat
diseases of the eye, and more. Most of
us probably see an eye doctor on a regular basis. But, for most all of human history, the eyes
were very mysterious and little was known about them other than just very basic
things. There is a very real sense
though (they had it, and we still have it) that “seeing” and how we “see” and
“perceive” things is very, very important.
The “eye” is the organ with which we do that, but it is so much more
than just the organ called the “eye.” When Jesus spoke of the “eye” in Mat.
6:22-23, He was talking about much more than the physical eyes. He says “The lamp of the body is the
eye. If therefore your eye is good, your
whole body will be full of light. But,
if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is
darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Mat. 6:22-23)
With the
eye, we can do a lot of “good” things.
It would be impossible to name them all but our eyes are used to glorify
God. We are a very visual society. Everything from T-shirts to pick-up trucks
come in different colors. Those who make
the products know that people will make purchases based on color
preferences. Over 20 years ago I worked
for a period of time in a shoe store.
Every day, without fail, someone would look at a shoe and ask “do you
have this in a lighter/darker color?”
“Do you have this in brown/black?”
If you allow your eyes to do so, they will control your life. If you insist on having everything in the
exact shade you desire, you are letting your eyes – your appetites – control
your lives. But, if you have a good,
disciplined, well-trained eye it will “serve your body, your mind, etc. If your eye desires dark/sinful things the
eye will lead you down the wrong path into darkness. Jesus said it was better for a person to
pluck out an eye, and live without it than to have both eyes and let them
destroy your soul. In Mat. 5:29 He says
“If your right eye [dominant eye] causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it
from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish,
than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
Sadly, people are prone to want to look upon
dark things, but several places in Scripture they are told to look away from
sin and sinful things. Jesus says, for
instance in Mat. 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You
shall not commit adultery’ but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to
lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
If a person
has a “bad eye,” one that controls the body and leads it astray to sinful
purposes, it can utterly destroy the whole person right down to their very
soul! People can allow lust/desire for
“things” to lead them to steal, manipulate, and become obsessed with how to get
it. They may have to lie, cheat, or do
who knows what to get it, but their eyes lust after “things” or “objects” so
much that they become consumed. People
allow lust, desire for sex, desire for a relationship with a man or a woman due
to the lust of the eyes to lead them into bad (even terrible) unhealthy,
hurtful relationships. People allow lust
to lead them to pornography, to strip clubs, prostitutes, adultery, pre-marital
sex, homosexuality, and every sort of “pornea” which is the general term used
in Scripture for sexual sin. People
allow the lust of the eye to lead them to eat too much, drink too much, buy too
much, get into too much debt, and watch too much TV. People allow the lust of the eye to put more
emphasis on the “physical” realm ruled by Satan than on the “spiritual” realm
ruled by God. Paul warned in Rom. 1:25
of a day when there would be those “Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie,
and worshiped and served the creature [created things] rather than the Creator
[God] who is blessed forever Amen.” John
wrote in 1 John 2:16-17 “For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of
the world. And the world is passing away
and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
I have been
both amazed and discouraged, along with other pastors and youth ministers I
know, at how quickly strong kids in the youth group turn away from God and
toward the world once they graduate high school, go off to college, or
generally begin life on their own.
Before you know it, many of these kids have dropped out of church, are
having pre-marital sex with a boyfriend or girlfriend, and may not even really
believe some of the most basic and fundamental tenets of the Christian faith
any longer. Many of them quickly become
money and/or possessions oriented and life becomes about fulfilling the
“American dream,” and the Scripture they had been taught for years fades
quickly out of sight. What causes this
to happen on such a consistent and predictable basis? Nothing short of what John calls “the lust of
the flesh” and “the pride of life.” They
let their eyes take over their bodies, thereby allowing their eyes to take
control of their whole lives. This is
certainly not limited to young people. I
have baptized people who gave every indication of having a true change of heart
who were only months later posting vile things on social media and acting in
all sorts of ungodly ways. I have seen
and even counseled many young women who were committed to God and growing in
their faith and service to the Lord by all appearance, yet a guy comes along
into their lives, they believe the lies he tells them and almost instantly they
drop church like a burning hot coal.
What happens in these common instances?
Quite simply, the devil has taken control of their eyes and their eyes
are now controlling their bodies.
Maturity,
dedication, and resolve are all things that help us control our eyes. If our strategy is to just be strong in the
moment, when it comes, we are packed and ready for a trip to failure! Just as the angels in Heaven rejoice when a
sinner comes to repentance, I believe it is safe to say, Satan and all his
demons rejoice when people let what their eyes see, and lust after, be their
god. In the last sentence of Mat. 6:23
Jesus is telling them that if the light inside them, the thing that keeps them
going, is really a dark, devious, sinful thing then there are hardly words to
describe that level of darkness. You
then are identifying with the Prince of Darkness – Satan.
Commentator
R. Kent Hughes writes, “The believer who has a generous spirit, who is not
tightly grasping the things of this world, maximizes the reception of
light (divine truth) in his life. The Scriptures are open before such a heart,
for his is seeking the things above.
Then not only does the eye of such a person receive light, but it
radiates light to those around. This
person is ‘a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.’ (Mat. 5:14). This person’s light shines before others in
such a way that they see his beautiful works and glorify his Father in Heaven
(Mat. 5:16), and as we might expect, a person with a generous spirit holds the
things of life loosely bringing great joy to others and experiencing it
himself.” (R. Kent Hughes; The Sermon on
the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom; 220)
In Christ,
Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor
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