The Shining Light of a Generous Spirit

The Shining Light of a Generous Spirit.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if you have a ‘good eye’ your whole body will be full of light; but if you have an ‘evil eye’ your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23; also refer to Luke 11:34-36).

The Context. These words from Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount is in the middle of His teaching on money, hoarding earthly treasures, on allowing wealth to capture our hearts, on the impossibility of serving the two masters of God and money. So, carefully placed between Christ’s two words of wisdom regarding materialism, right there between Matt. 6:19-21 and 6:24, are His quick thoughts about the lamp of the eye and the “good eye” and the “evil eye.” Jesus evidently decided to unpack a little bit of a commonly used proverb of that day in which the eye is the body’s lamp. And He also uses a popular Jewish expression of His time concerning a good eye and an evil eye.

The Good Eye. When someone had a ‘good eye,’ it referred to not only how generous a person was with his money and possessions, but also how generous a person was in how they looked at others around them… graciously, generously, favorably, positively. Jesus was highlighting the importance of giving others the benefit of the doubt. Don’t assume the worst motivation for someone’s questionable behavior. Believe the best about people, because only God knows the heart and can therefore judge rightly. Drop the critical spirit before we become an incurable cynic. Don’t jump to conclusions about a suspicious action, but learn to make allowances. If we believe the worst about people, and judge them with contempt, we are acting as if we know what people are thinking and why they are thinking it. Instead, weight our scales of justice in that person’s favor, even if we think they might not “deserve” it. So Jesus agreed with the common rabbinic thought of “judging every person in favorable terms.”

The Evil Eye. When someone had an ‘evil eye’ during that time, it referred to a person who was not only stingy with one’s wealth but also with the amount of grace one demonstrated with those around them. The evil eye meant that a person was selfish, unforgiving, cynical, negative in his outlook towards others. Someone with an evil eye assumes the worst in the other person, keeps a sharp edge to a critical spirit, and judges others with the scales weighted against them.

Why should we value the ‘good eye’? Jesus supported that common Jewish idiom about the good eye vs. the bad eye, but he increased the challenge by focusing heavily on the main reasons for being magnanimous with others… Show mercy toward others because of God’s mercy towards each of us; give grace to others and allow them to have apparent weak moments, because God gives grace to us and allows each of us to show our humanity as well. We weight the scales in our neighbor’s favor, because God graciously weights the scales in our favor, despite our sinfulness. Judging others favorably doesn’t excuse sinful behavior, or pretend evil doesn’t exist, or remove any sense of moral accountability. Creator God did establish a moral universe, after all. The good eye instead graciously assumes a forgivable explanation for misbehavior. The good eye always seeks to understand others, loving the sinner while hating the sin. In terms of what’s truly going on in another’s heart of hearts, God only knows. Judgment is mine, says the Lord. 

“So be generous with others, magnanimous even! Isn’t that how the Father treats everyone, whether we deserve it or not? He created a magnificent world for us all to enjoy, given us the very breath of life. He causes the warming sun to shine, and provides the nourishing rain as well, whether we’ve been naughty or nice, grateful or ungrateful. Really now, who do we think we are, judging our neighbor without grace like we do? Listen to our marching orders straight from the King… Love others the way that God loves us.” ( a little riff on Luke 6, Matthew 5:45, James 4:11-12, Romans 14:10, and 1 John 4:11)

Jeremiah 22/31 – Love, Love, and More Love || Bible in Song || Project of Love – YouTube

A Central Ethic in the Christian Life. Developing a good eye is not just a minor matter to Jesus, apparently. He seems to be claiming that by treating others mercifully, generously and graciously, we thereby allow our whole spirit to be filled with the light of Christ and His truth. The good eye plays an important role in our spiritual transformation. Our souls will be filled with light to the extent we develop a good eye regarding others.  Our perception of others, and how we treat others, affects everything else about who we are and who we become. And when we develop an evil eye in how we view others and how we treat others, then our very soul will be filled with complete darkness. Jesus seems to be saying it’s easy to fool ourselves into thinking that we are filled with light and enjoy a wonderful good eye with others when in fact we are instead developing an evil eye and becoming filled with darkness. Perhaps that’s why Jesus was so frustrated with the self-righteousness of the religious leaders of His day. They mistakenly thought they were filled with light, but instead were filled with the darkness of the judging, critical spirit regarding those who they deemed ‘sinners’. As Jesus warned in His parallel teaching in Luke 11:33-36, “Be careful that the light in you is not darkness!” And Jesus closed this teaching in Luke with, “If, then, your whole body is filled with light, with no part dark, it will be wholly lighted, as when a brightly lit lamp shines on you.”

Other Angles on this Passage (all of which can be true): Many Biblical scholars have considered other ways to understand this passage in Matthew 6 and Luke 11:

1. The eye is a symbol of our spiritual perception, our ability to perceive spiritual realities. Since light is often a symbol for spiritual truth, it is the healthy eye which allows the truth of Christ’s teachings to enter into our whole being.
2. The eye is a metaphor for the heart. When our heart is open to accepting the light of truth, then the light pours in and our spirit burns with spiritual light. Our soul will be fully illuminated, and we will become a shining lamp that reflects the light of Christ, His spiritual goodness, through the way we live.
3. The healthy eye is like a clear window that allows light to enter into us, while it also reveals the light of truth shining outwards from our inner being.
4. Just as our physical eyes give us the ability to see the reality around us, our spiritual eye allows us to understand spiritual realities and discern truth.
5. When we close our spiritual eyes through ignorance or rebellion, we become blind to truth, and we become full of darkness, confusion, distorted thinking, and falsehoods. Blind to the truth, we are sure to embrace unbelief and are easily deceived. As the Message puts it, “If you squint your eyes in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinders on your window, what a dark life you will have. Instead, keep your life like a well-lighted room.”
6. The eye is a metaphor for the mind, which is the spiritual eye of the soul. Allowing truth into your thinking, dwelling on the truth of Christ, will illuminate your whole inner person. So it is vital to keep our mind, our spiritual eye, focused on that which is pure, wholesome and healthy.
7. We become what we look at, what we decide to focus on. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we will be filled with His light. If we fix our attention on other things, we will become filled with darkness.
8. Being filled with light is a gradual process as we allow ourselves to welcome truth. So it’s important to follow whatever light we are being shown. Follow the light we’re being given. Walk in the light we are being graced with, and more light will be shown as we walk. “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining ever brighter until full daylight. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they don’t even know what makes them stumble.” (Proverbs 4:18-19).