Generosity and healthy eyesight

“The eye is the lamp of the body.” This saying of Jesus is closely related to what precedes and what follows it. In Matthew 6:19–21 Jesus has spoken of two kinds of treasure, earthly and heavenly. And in verse 24 he warns against trying to serve both God and mammon. From these sayings which surround our text, we have to assume that our Lord is focusing on heavenly riches in contrast to material possessions in verses 22–23, as well.

Therefore, we should look carefully at what Jesus says about these two kinds of treasures, and will then be in a better position to understand what he means by the healthy and unhealthy eye.

Jesus begins (v. 19) with a warning against amassing earthly possessions: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where thieves break in and steal.” He does not forbid the owning of earthly things, for we couldn’t live without them. They are gifts from God for which we can be thankful.

However, the selfish accumulation of possessions, anxiously clinging to them, or spending them lavishly on our own pleasures, does not please God. Paul reminds those who have been blessed with earthly things, that “we brought nothing into this world, so that we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:7).

Earthly treasures, Jesus goes on to explain (v. 20), are ephemeral and insecure. Moths consume clothes (wealth in those days often consisted, in part at least, of clothing), and rust destroys coinage. In those days people often stored up their treasures in their homes, rather than in banks, as we might do today. Houses made of clay bricks could easily be entered by thieves, either by digging under the exterior walls or even by making a hole in the wall.

In contrast to the insecurity of earthly possessions, Jesus mentions the heavenly treasures which are beyond the reach of thieves, and then makes this observation: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 21). In Hebrew psychology people think, feel, and make decisions with the heart. If then our hearts (i.e. our lives) are totally focused on the things of this earth, we are in grave danger of losing our souls.

It’s against this background that we must seek to understand the meaning of a healthy and an unhealthy eye. Surely Jesus is not teaching his disciples the obvious, namely that a person with good eyesight is better off than the one who has bad eyesight. We must, therefore, look for a deeper, spiritual meaning in this saying of our Lord.

One way of understanding this saying is to take the healthy eye to mean clear spiritual vision. If Christ’s followers will concentrate on Christ and his kingdom; if they will seek what is above, as Paul puts it in Colossians 3:1, their entire lives will be light. (Light stands for holiness, purity, insight.) If, on the other hand, believers can’t see properly, in other words, have an unhealthy eye, and allow their spiritual vision to be clouded by focusing on material things, their entire life becomes dark.

But perhaps there is more in this word of Jesus about a healthy and an unhealthy eye.

The words “good” or “healthy,” are the Greek haplous, which can mean sound or healthy, but it is also the word for “generous.” The apostle James writes that God is generous (haplos – he uses the adverb) in James 1:5. A stingy person, on the other hand, was said to have an evil eye. If then we take the good eye to be a symbol of generosity and the bad eye as a symbol of greed and the rage to possess more and more, we can see how this saying of Jesus fits into the context.

Followers of Jesus with a healthy eye are people who are ready to help others, to share their possessions with those in need. The consequence of such an attitude is that their entire lives are illuminated. A niggardly person, however, who has an unhealthy eye, whose life is focused on amassing earthly possessions, loses his spiritual vision, and eventually walks in darkness. Paul writes with great pain about people who evidently had a good beginning in their Christian life but lost their way, “their minds are set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19).

This interpretation is in harmony with what Jesus said in the preceding and following verses about treasure and mammon. The lure of riches can be very powerful. Jesus’ followers must therefore be vigilant and give their undivided loyalty to God, for, as Jesus explains, one cannot serve both God and mammon. If we acknowledge God’s lordship over our lives and serve him, even with our material possessions, our lives here on earth will be bright, and we will also have treasures in heaven. “Aim at heaven,” writes C. S. Lewis, “and you get earth.”

Matthew 6:22–23

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 unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. (NRSV)

David Ewert is a prolific writer, preacher, and teacher. He is a member of Bakerview MB Church, Abbotsford, B.C.