Eyes

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34 ESV

If you have read my blog for even a short while you will know that I tend to avoid entangling it with politics; and I generally shy away from current events. It’s not that I feel they are unimportant; rather that the tendency is for the news media to over-report and flood us with biased information from either side of the political spectrum. I am using the following news item merely to illustrate my primary point. Please bear with me.

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota while being arrested on suspicion of passing fake currency. While it was happening onlookers recorded video. In the days and weeks that followed both peaceful protests and violent riots took place.

The peaceful protests that took place emphasized the value of human life, specifically the lives of black individuals who have been cruelly and wrongfully stereotyped by law enforcement. This wasn’t the first time such stereotyping has led to murder at the hands of police officers. The eyes of the peaceful protesters were good and healthy, while the eyes of the police officers involved were bad.

The rioting that occurred—it seemed to me at least—targeted innocents (many of them minorities!) and their businesses, many of which lost everything, to fire, looting and vandalism. The destruction did nothing to advance the cause of justice; it had nothing whatsoever to do with obtaining justice for Mr. Floyd; it served only to provide opportunity for evil, which was watching and waiting for just the right time. Without a doubt, the eyes of the rioters were bad.

It is easy to condemn. We pass judgment on others, probably, more than we even realize. That is not to say that the behavior of the responsible police officers or the rioters does not require judgment. It does. But the society in which we live is not getting better, rather it is devolving in a downward spiral.

We watch the news and see the failure of governments to respond adequately to world-wide pandemic. We see violence becoming the norm rather than the exception. Sure, there are some good things happening, too. But it can be difficult to see the light for all the darkness. Often the eyes of our news media are bad.

Which…leads me to my point.

It takes a lot of work to ensure that our spiritual eyes are clear, good and healthy. We are constantly bombarded with bad news, slanted news, and sometimes even fake news.

“For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” Mat 13:15, ESV.

When the sun is too bright we put on sunglasses to help us see more clearly and comfortably. So what do we need in order to see our society—our world—more clearly and comfortably? How can we filter the world around us such that our eyes can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem? We need to spend a lot of quality time in the light with our Savior, Jesus. We need to learn to look at people through the eyes of Jesus. We can only accomplish this through His word and our worship.

We must learn to see the light so that we can be the light!

As always, these are the musings of a mindful disciple. Blessings on your week!

Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay