The Ominous Evil Eye! -

An evil eye?

Are you kidding me?

Those are the sweetest, most precious eyes in the world!

Can’t you see the light of life in those beautiful blue eyes?

But Matthew 6 tells us about an evil eye.

“But an evil eye…” now that’s an interesting way to start a verse. I don’t know what you think when you hear “evil eye”, but I have some pretty vivid memories of what I would call an “evil eye.” I’ve seen hatred flash from a persons eyes. Honestly, it was bone chillingly evil. And then I’ve seen anger contort a face as they yelled through clinched teeth and glared through tiny slits of squinted fiery rage where eyes should be located. It is terrifying, especially if it is directed toward you! Terrifying! Those sulfuric lava like emotions spewing from a person’s eyes would meet my qualifications for an “evil eye.”

I was reading Matthew 6:23 from the KJV.

The verse had my attention. Other translations used different words than the word evil. Some versions translated the word as bad, unhealthy, or diseased. But, it was clear the verse wasn’t talking about the emotions reflected from the eye. Instead, it was talking about the results that occur when it does not function as it is designed. An evil, bad or diseased eye does not allow the light to enter, so there is darkness on the inside.

Let’s look at just one common eye disease–cataracts.

The cataract clouds the lens of the eye, making it difficult to see. If allowed to grow worse it will cause blindness. Cataracts can be removed surgically, restoring vision. I have a friend that had cataracts removed and LASIK surgery performed at the same time. While he struggled to see before his surgery, now he doesn’t have to wear glasses and his eyesight is almost perfect.

evil eye — We tried to watch the lunar eclipse, but the sky was cloudy. Wayne captured this beautiful sky. Thank you, baby!

We know what happens to a person when they lose their eyesight.

We know how it effects every aspect of a persons’ life. So we are proactive. People go to the eye doctor. They protect their eyes.We wear corrective lens. We listen to the doctor. Even have surgery when necessary. We realize our vision is priceless.

But Matthew 6:23 talks about another serious eye disease that very few people are concerned about; the eyes of our heart or spirit. No, I’m not getting all spooky on you. Jesus is talking about the eyes that guide our decisions, our choices our attitudes–our spiritual eyes.

But let’s look at the good news first.

“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. Matthew 6:22 I love that picture. On Sunday after church, Wayne and I explored the Blue Ridge Mountains looking for bursts of red and yellow along the mountainside. I kept telling him “I love the way the light filters through the trees.” And I do! The light allows us to see colors, smiles on our grand babies faces, scowls on our husband’s face when we burn dinner—again! The light keeps us from stumbling. It guides us. Warms us. Welcomes us!

The light of God’s Word does the same thing for our spirit.

It guides us.”Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalms 119:105

It refreshes us. Psalms 23:3

It shows us how to live. Acts 2:28

It shows us how to be blessed. Psalms 119:1 NIV “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.”

It reveals absolute truth. John 17:17

Psalms 119 is a prayer that applauds the value of God’s Word. The Wikipedia entry on Psalms 119 has some interesting information.

Matthew 6:23 begins with “But…” there’s that game changing word- but; “But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness… I want to save the rest of the verse for the next paragraph. When our spiritual eye shuts out the light of truth, we are plunged, that’s a pregnant word, into darkness. Darkness, in the sense it is used in Matthew 6:23, is the exact opposite of the light I described above. Let’s allow the bitterness of this portion of scripture linger on the taste buds of our understanding for just a moment. While the sunshine is warm and inviting, this spiritual darkness is ominous.

–It is lonely.

–Fearful.

–Destruction.

–Poisonous.

–Jealous.

–Hateful.

–Selfish.

–Greedy.

All these dark attitudes are not pleasant to dwell on or dwell in.

One more bite of bad news, then I’ll share some good news.

Continuing in Matthew 6:23…If the light you think you have is really darkness,

Sorry! Can I interject one thought here that is a scary, scary thought. What if I think I have the light on the subject, but it’s really darkness. That’s like someone stealing a warning sign like “Bridge Ahead is Washed Out” or “Dangerous Surf. Keep Out” so we keep on going or we take our children into the water to play because we don’t know the danger. OK! Here’s the remainder of the verse … how deep that darkness will be!” I don’t think Jesus spoke this verse calmly. I don’t think He spoke it in a monotone. I hear passion in this verse. I hear an alarm going off. Wake up folks! You got darkness going on here and you don’t even know it! Sometimes we think we are living in the light of God’s truth, but we’re not. We think we have the light, but the truth is, we are living in darkness and we don’t even know it. The tragedy of that reality is, if I know it’s dark, I can turn on a light, get a flashlight or light a candle. But if I don’t know it, I try to muddle through my situation, my problem or my life, the best I know how, instead of receiving the light of God’s “how to” and His strength to do what I need to do.

I stumbled across this quote last week

“As children we were afraid of the dark. As adults we are afraid of the light.”

Andy Andrews The Traveler’s Gift.

There are truths in God’s Word that are scary and hard to live out.

fall-light-through-trees

They move me to give when I don’t want to give.

They move me to love when I would rather be hateful.

Cowering in a dark room can be more comfortable than moving out to touch the unloveable.

But as followers of Christ, we are not called to live comfortable lives. We are called to follow Christ and that means walking in the light of His Word; in the light of His love.

No, it’s not always easy. It’s not always fun, but the reward is outta this world! This life is temporal, but the next is eternal.

The good news. There’s a cure for the evil, bad, diseased eye

and that cure is prayer and Scripture.

Ask God to bring His light into your life.
Read the Bible. Ask God to show you truth in the Scriptures you read.
Ask God to show you where there is darkeness in your life, then begin a word study from scripture on that area.
He’ll guide you. He’ll bring truth! He’s just waiting for you to ask.
Get excited. The journey can get bumpy, but where you’re going is worth the bumpy ride!

Here’s another link on the benefits of God’s Word

Eat Up to Grow Up
Will you help me? I’ve been asking God to expand my influence. Would you share this post with your friends?