Matthew 6:22
King James Version (KJV)
22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
• The Holy Bible says that we are to_ “Be full of the light of life so that there is no darkness in you. Have a “good” eye. Develop a personal commitment to the Lord and His will. The person with the single or good (“healthy”) eye is one whose intent is to serve God and not mammon (the money god, used here to indicate the whole system of materialism). The person with the evil or bad eyes is selfish, covetous, and miserly. The one’s life is full of light, meaning, and purpose; the other’s life is plunged into darkness, deprived of meaning”. Verses 19-24
Interpretation
In researching the meaning of this parable, I discovered the following: Worldly-mindedness is as common and as fatal a symptom of hypocrisy as any other, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold of the soul, under the cloak of a visible and passable profession of religion, than by this; and therefore Christ, having warned us against coveting the praise of men, proceeds next to warn us against coveting the wealth of the world; in this also we must take heed, lest we be as the hypocrites are, and do as they do: the fundamental error that they are guilty of is, that they choose the world for their reward; we must therefore take heed of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness, in the choice we make of our treasure, our end, and our masters.
So, what do we do? Well, first we recognize that there is no shame in admitting to being ignorant in some areas of our lives. After-all, what is ignorance? Put simply. . .’one just doesn’t know any better’. The shame is that after learning and acquiring the tools to better ourselves, we ‘choose’ to remain the same. Come on now, there is absolutely no reason for any of us to perish. We have the parables of Jesus Christ to guide us through life!
Matt. 6:24. No man can serve two masters. Serving two masters is contrary to the single eye; for the eye will be to the master’s hand, Ps. 123:1, 2. Our Lord Jesus here exposes the cheat which those put upon their own souls, who think to divide between God and the world, to have a treasure on earth, and a treasure in heaven too, to please God and please men too. Why not? says the hypocrite; it is good to have two strings to one’s bow. They hope to make their religion serve their secular interest, and so turn to account both ways. The pretending mother was for dividing the child; the Samaritans will compound between God and idols. No, says Christ, this will not do; it is but a supposition that gain is godliness, 1 Tim. 6:5. Here is,
In choosing the treasure we lay up. Something or other every man has which he makes his treasure, his portion, which his heart is upon, to which he carries all he can get, and which he depends upon for futurity. It is that good, that chief good, which Solomon speaks of with such an emphasis, Eccl. 2:3. Something the soul will have, which it looks upon as the best thing, which it has a complacency and confidence in above other things. Now Christ designs not to deprive us of our treasure, but to direct us in the choice of it; and here we have:
(1.) A good caution against making the things that are seen, that are temporal, our best things, and placing our happiness in them. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth. Christ’s disciples had left all to follow him, let them still keep in the same good mind. A treasure is an abundance of something that is in itself, at least in our opinion, precious and valuable, and likely to stand us in stead hereafter. Now we must not lay up our treasures on earth, that is, (1.) We must not count these things the best things, nor the most valuable in themselves, nor the most serviceable to us: we must not call them glory, as Laban’s sons did, but see and own that they have no glory in comparison with the glory that excelleth.
(2.) We must not covet an abundance of these things, nor be still grasping at more and more of them, and adding to them, as men do to that which is their treasure, as never knowing when we have enough.
(3.) We must not confide in them for futurity, to be our security and supply in time to come; we must not say to the gold, Thou art my hope.
(4.) We must not content ourselves with them, as all we need or desire: we must be content with a little for our passage, but not with all for our portion. These things must not be made our consolation (Luke 6:24), our good things, Luke 16:25. Let us consider we are laying up, not for our posterity in this world, but for ourselves in the other world. We are put to our choice, and made in a manner our own carvers; that is ours which we lay up for ourselves. It concerns thee to choose wisely, for thou art choosing for thyself, and shalt have as thou choosest. If we know and consider ourselves what we are, what we are made for, how large our capacities are, and how long our continuance, and that our souls are ourselves, we shall see it is foolish thing to lay up our treasures on earth.
(5.) Good counsel, to make the joys and glories of the other world, those things not seen that are eternal, our best things, and to place our happiness in them. Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. ... to be cont'd
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
www.biblestoriestheatre.org
info@biblestoriestheatre.org
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