Clean Eyes
Spring is in the air! Literally. If you suffer from allergies, you don’t need a weather app to tell you that spring has sprung. We are about two weeks into the season and already the sneezing has begun. One of the worst allergy symptoms that I suffer from is watery, itchy eyes. On a bad day my eyes will constantly water and itch and there’s not much in the way of enjoying the outdoors and sights of fresh flowers and butterflies when your vision is obstructed because of allergies. Jesus spoke similarly about our vision being obstructed in His Sermon on the Mount.
“‘Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!’” (Matthew 6:22-23)
What we allow our eyes to take in will affect our entire bodies. Whether or not we choose to watch the movie or show with explicit content will affect our bodies. Whether or not we choose to read the gossipy novel or the Bible is going to affect our entire selves. This statement by Jesus, like most things in the Bible, has been proven by science. A study done by Canopy found that “pornography impacts the brain much like an addictive drug by triggering ever-increasing amounts of dopamine. Over time, the brain builds up a tolerance to the excess dopamine and requires either more access or more extreme content (or sometimes both) to achieve that same level of perceived pleasure.” Research compiled by Neuroscience News found that, among other things, watching porn erodes the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain critical for impulse control, damages the dopamine reward system, and rewires the brain to a more juvenile state. They concluded, “the much greater irony is that while porn promises to satisfy and provide sexual gratification, it delivers the opposite.” Science proves Jesus’ words. Jesus also warns of how deep the darkness can go if we continually corrupt our eyes. We can actually fool ourselves into thinking our darkness is light.
“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” (Matthew 3:8)
“Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” (Philippians 2:12b)
It is healthy to constantly evaluate whether or not your life is proving that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. The danger of not honestly examining how you are living is that the light you think you have may actually be darkness. Stay in the Word everyday, be in community with a trusted brother or sister in Christ, talk to the Lord constantly, and work hard to show the results of your salvation. I have some amazing eye drops that I can use when my allergies flare up and they provide near instant relief. Keeping our eyes clean and choosing the Scriptures over corrupt offerings of this world is like using eye drops on a bad allergy day. When we choose to keep our eyes clean, it affects our entire body. Work hard to keep your eyes healthy, remembering how much your brain and body are affected by what you allow your eyes to take in.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
