One night while doing mission work in Japan many years ago, I was enjoying the company of several Japanese friends. At one point I began trying to teach them some English tongue twisters: The big black bug bleeds black blood, Sally sells seashells by the seashore, and something as simple as saying “toy boat” five times fast. It was all great fun and quite hilarious and even more so when the tables were turned and they began trying to teach me tongue twisters in Japanese!
Language is complex. Not just the myriads of sounds humans make in our array of languages, but also the nuances of meaning that are rooted in specific cultures. In the United States we have hundreds of idioms that people outside of our culture have no chance of understanding without explanation. How is someone to understand phrases like, “There are two ways to skin a cat,” or “He has a skeleton in the closet”?
Sometimes there are idioms associated with specific areas in our own country. For instance, having grown up with parents and grandparents from the South, I remember hearing “It is better than a stick in the eye” or “He’s as welcome as an outhouse breeze” and wondering what in the world these could mean. Once we are initiated into the secret meaning of these phrases, even if they don’t make perfect sense to us, we can at least understand the point that is being made.
The Bible is riddled with these kinds of sayings as well. Without a clear understanding of what they actually mean, we are left confused and, sometimes, coming up with an idea that is far afield from the actual meaning of the passage. This is often how many misunderstandings in biblical teaching arise.
In this article, we are going to look at one of these figures of speech from the New Testament; we find it being used by Jesus in the sermon on the mount,
“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 bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 5:22-23 ESV)
The key to understanding the idiom, “the eye is the lamp of the body,” is found in the Hebrew language.
The eye was often used as an expression to describe the way someone saw other people. In the Jewish culture, both then and now, having a good eye means to care about the needs of others and to be generous toward the poor. Having a bad eye is to be blind to the needs of others and to be selfish and greedy.
An interesting use of this concept can be found in a parable of Jesus from Matthew chapter 20. In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a man who, throughout the day, hires field workers. Some are hired early in the morning, some mid-morning, some early afternoon, and some late afternoon. When it is time for the owner of the field to pay the workers, he pays them all the same amount. Those who worked longer are indignant that those who worked less than they did were given the same amount they received. In most English translations, the owner of the field responds something like this, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” (Matthew 20:15 ESV). However, in the Greek in which the New Testament was written, it clearly reflects the Hebrew concept we have been speaking of; a literal translation of this verse would be, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with that which is mine? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?”
This is also demonstrated in the book of Proverbs: “Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9 ESV), and “A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him” (Proverbs 28:22 ESV). In the first verse, the English Standard Version has a footnote explaining that the word bountiful literally means “good” in Hebrew. In the second verse the footnote explains that the phrase a stingy man is literally “a man whose eye is evil.”
Knowing this Hebrew background helps us understand why Jesus’ teaching about the “eye” in the sermon on the mount is found within the context of treasures and money. If your eye is a good eye, you will be a generous person, considering the needs of others as equal to or greater than your own needs. If your eye is a bad eye, you will be blind to the needs of others and focused only on what benefits you. In other words, if your eye is a window you will be able to see what is going on around you and be compelled to help. On the other hand, if your eye is a mirror, you will be blind to all that is going on around you and see only yourself. In the words of Jesus, how great is that darkness!
Generosity is a core value of the true follower of Jesus. There are far too many verses in the New Testament related to this fact to cover here, but let’s look at a few of the most poignant passages.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:16-17 NIV).
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead “(James 2:15-16 NIV).
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV).
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:3-8 NIV).
In these passages, we are confronted with several powerful realities:
1. The apostle John reminds us that love without action is meaningless. The Lord Jesus did not simply say that he loved us, but he laid down his life to prove that.
2. James, the brother of Jesus, cuts right to the chase and reminds his readers (and us) that faith without works is dead. Elsewhere he implies that faith without works cannot save (James 2:14).
3. When writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul instructs him to command the rich people in the church to be generous and mindful of those who have less. Rich is a relative state, many of us are richer than those around us, therefore, this teaching easily applies to all of us.
4. The last verse I reference here, I believe, is the most powerful of all. The Lord Jesus, the one whom we as his followers refer to as our Savior, Master, and King, released his standing and security in heaven in order to come to earth to take on the form of a humble slave and willingly gave his life in a brutal death, the death on the cross.
In the Gospels, there are many places where Jesus manifests his concerns for the poor (Matthew 6:2-4; Luke 4:18-19, 6:30, 8:43-48, 16:19-25, 18:18-30, 21:1-4). Many of his parables also address the poor (Luke 14:12-14, Matthew 25:31-46, for example). In the parable in Matthew 25 just cited, the difference between condemnation and redemption is based on the response to the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned. I am quite sure that Jesus is in no way preaching a message of justification through works, we know this would contradict the whole of the Bible, however, it is unquestionable that Jesus is establishing the fact that faith without works is meaningless—this very well may be what his brother James was referring to above.
It is chilling to consider the possibility that a confessed follower of Jesus Christ could read this passage (and the others cited above) and not be convicted of our need to carefully review our commitment to generosity. We must work at discovering those around us who have needs and prayerfully consider how we may be able to help address them. If we search our lives and do not readily find the ways we are helping, it may be that our eye is more mirror than window. If this is true, it is essential that we rectify this immediately.
Just preceding the lesson about the eye, Jesus talks about storing up treasures in heaven. This is also an expression of caring for the needs of the poor. We often think about it as getting the short end of the stick, so to speak, and deciding we will accept that situation believing we will be repaid in heaven. However, in the other places where this statement is used in the New Testament, it is in relation to giving to the poor. In Matthew 19:21, Jesus tells the wealthy young man to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and come and follow him. Consequently, he will have treasures in heaven. Again, in Luke 12:33, Jesus challenges his disciples to do the same thing—sell your possessions, give the money to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. As we referenced above, the apostle Paul uses the same language about treasures in heaven when telling Timothy how to challenge the rich people in his congregation (see 1 Timothy 6:19).
These passages are not necessarily a call to poverty, but a call to priorities. Jesus is not telling all of his disciples, including us, that we should sell everything we have and give the money to the poor, thus becoming poor and homeless ourselves. Rather, the point is that as we care generously for the needs of the poor, our Father in heaven is adding to our heavenly account, so to speak. In this heavenly place, Jesus says we do not have to worry about thieves, rust, or insects destroying our treasure. A simple summary of this could be: We can never outgive God. As the Proverb says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done” (Proverbs 19:17 NIV).
Immediately following Jesus’ teaching about the eye comes a stark warning. Jesus warns of the dangers of trying to have a good eye and a bad eye. In other words, the good eye, which would seek to serve God, and the bad eye, which would seek money. Jesus says this is a fool’s errand, the end result inevitably will be choosing one over the other. Unfortunately, human nature will almost always bend to the darkness. This is where we might hear Jesus asking the question, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26 ESV).
Giving can be done in many ways. As Americans, we inevitably think of giving in the context of money. This is not wrong if it is done with the right motivation in the right spirit. Jesus was not impressed with people who gave enormous amounts of money with the wrong spirit; instead, he celebrated those who gave very little, but did so honorably and thoughtfully (See Luke 21:1-4 and Luke 18:9-14). Giving, however, can be many things. I would imagine that everyone reading this article, whether wealthy or not, has something essential to give others, probably more than one thing.
Some years ago, I started a ministry in the city in which I lived. The ministry was about finding Christians who had abilities that are common to our daily lives. I found mechanics, handymen, nurses, seamstresses, gardeners, cooks, even readers. The list included many trades, talents, and abilities. I found that many Christians desired to serve others but did not have an outlet to do so. It may be that a “shut-in” simply needed someone to visit and talk with for a while. It may be that someone needed the brakes on their car changed. It may be that someone needed a step repaired on their front porch. It may be that a family needed a few meals throughout a month. One lady, who enjoyed crocheting, made several baby blankets each month and donated them to a local pregnancy center.
When there was a significant financial need, such as a family needing a new refrigerator, or an expensive car repair, I would contact my many Christian partners, divide up the cost amongst 100 people (or more), and purchase the item for the person or family. Even an expense of $1000 split up 100 ways was only $10 per person or family. Many people in our community, Christian and non-Christian, were blessed in the name of Jesus by Christians they didn’t even know serving them or helping them in a time of financial need.
It is important, as followers of Jesus, that we take inventory of our lives, searching for talents and abilities, and finding ways to bless people with what God has given us. Obviously, a mechanic must earn a living, but doing one or two simple car repairs, a brake job or tune-up, requires relatively little time. This would apply to anyone with a trade or ability worthy of wages—we want to use wisdom in our giving but giving “comfortably” does not necessarily impress our Father (See Luke 6:30-36). When considering that God is the one repaying us, our time, energy, and resources are all invested wisely.
It is so important that we take a look at our eyes, as odd as that sounds. Are we seeing the needs of those around us and considering ways we may be helpful? Or are we going through life day-to-day missing opportunities to bring glory to God because our eyes are more mirror than window? The way to help is not always obvious, but if we open our hearts and minds (and eyes) to God, he will most certainly bring opportunities our way. In the most humble way possible, I challenge you to not think of generosity as an option if you are a confessed follower of Jesus Christ, instead, it is of utmost importance that you realize that you and I are called and commanded to do these things.
I will conclude this article with this powerful quote from the Lord Jesus, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
**I would like to thank Lois Tverberg for the inspiration and much of the information found in this article. I heartily recommend her books, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus and Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus.
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© 2024 D. Edwin Cohea
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I loved this !! Definitely food for thought and self evaluation…..