“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” — Matthew 6:22–23

I have read these verses many times. But for a long time, I could not understand why they appear in this particular place. However much I tried, the puzzle remained.

In the verses immediately before them, Jesus speaks about treasures:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” — Matthew 6:19–20

In the verse immediately after them, He speaks about two masters:

“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and mammon.” — Matthew 6:24

Why, then, does Jesus suddenly speak about the eye and light between these two?

If verses 22–23 were removed from this passage, the thought would seem to flow perfectly: Do not lay up treasures on earth; lay up treasures in heaven; you cannot serve both God—the heavenly treasure—and mammon—the earthly treasure. The thought seems to continue without any interruption at all.

And yet Jesus deliberately places the eye right in the middle.

When I began to understand why, the depth of it struck me.

For there is a profound connection between where my treasure is and what my eyes see as treasure.

The Evil Eye

Matthew 20:15 helped me understand this.

A landowner goes out early in the morning and hires labourers to work in his vineyard. Some work all day. Some work nine hours, others six, others three. Finally, some come and work for only one hour.

In the evening, when the wages are paid, the landowner generously gives even those who came last a denarius. He also gives those who came first the denarius he had agreed to pay them.

The first workers begin to complain:

“These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.”

The landowner replies:

“Friend, I am doing you no wrong… Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?”

That question stopped me in my tracks. The expression “evil eye” in that question hit me like a hammer.

The problem with those workers was not that they had been denied their wages. They had received everything that had been promised to them. Their problem was that their eyes could not see the beauty of the landowner’s generosity.

A man who had worked for only one hour had received a full day’s wage. They could have rejoiced. They could have marvelled at the generosity of the landowner. They could have celebrated with the man who had received such unexpected grace.

But their eyes did not see it that way.

An eye that cannot see the beauty of God’s grace is an evil eye.

An eye that cannot see the splendour of God’s generosity is an evil eye.

An eye that cannot rejoice when someone else receives an unexpected blessing is an evil eye.

An eye that cannot see what is truly beautiful, what truly shines, what is truly precious, what is truly valuable, what is truly Godlike—is an evil eye.

An eye that cannot discern what belongs to heaven, what belongs to eternity, what is spiritual, what is everlasting—is an evil eye.

What Is Precious to My Eyes?

After seeing this, I began to read Matthew 6 differently.

To the eyes of the world, money shines. Property looks precious. Fame looks great. Position looks lofty. Influence looks powerful. Comfort looks like blessing. Security looks trustworthy.

None of these things is wrong in itself. Money is necessary. A house and land are good things. Caring for our children’s future is a responsibility. Saving something for tomorrow is not wrong either.

The problem is not in these things. The problem is in the eye with which I see them.

When what is temporary looks more precious than what is eternal, my eye has been deceived. When what belongs to earth looks greater than what belongs to heaven, my eye has been deceived. When what can be seen looks more real than what cannot be seen, my eye has been deceived.

When money shines more brightly to me than the grace of God, when property appears more precious than the likeness of God, when the glory of this world becomes more desirable than the character of Christ—my eye has become evil.

Satan too showed Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Matthew 4:8).

He did not show Him something ugly.

He showed Him glory.

But the eyes of Jesus knew the Glory before which all that glory was nothing.

That, it seems to me, is the mark of a good eye.

A good eye does not say that nothing in this world has value. It sees everything according to its true value. It sees earthly things as earthly and heavenly things as heavenly. It sees temporary things as temporary and eternal things as eternal.

But what is precious in the eyes of God is different.

Grace. Mercy. Generosity. The likeness of God. The character of Christ. The good of others.

The eye that can see the value of these things is a good eye.

As I write this, a few events from my own life come back to me.

I look back today and ask myself, What appeared to be treasure to my eyes then?

A house has value. Land has value. My children studying in a good school has value. My hometown and my relatives have value. Having some money in the bank has value.

But at that time, my eyes saw some other things as more valuable than these.

Losing a house did not look like a loss. Giving away land did not look like a loss. Compared with some educational opportunities my own children could have had, the opportunity for God’s children to receive higher education and move forward in life appeared more precious to me.

That was how my eyes saw things then.

But I cannot rest content with those memories.

How Do My Eyes See Today?

This is the question that searches me most deeply today.

The eyes that saw things that way then—how do they see today?

Yesterday’s vision is no guarantee of today’s vision.

As I grow older, does security begin to look more important? Does the fear of losing things begin to grow? Does my heart want to hold more tightly to what is in my hands? Do I now hesitate to let go of things I once released so easily?

My eyes once saw people as more precious than possessions. Have they now begun to see possessions as more precious than people?

My eyes once rejoiced in the good of others. Have they now begun to compare what others receive with what I have received?

My eyes once saw the grace and generosity of God as beautiful. Are they now being captivated by the glitter of this world?

I cannot live today on the answers I gave to these questions yesterday.

What If What I Think Is Light Is Actually Darkness?

The next words of Jesus are even more frightening:

“If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

If my eyes see things as God sees them, I am filled with light. But if my eyes do not see that way, then what I imagine to be light—the sights and attractions of this world, its glamour and glitter, physical beauty, fame and wealth—may itself be darkness.

It is more dangerous to mistake darkness for light than merely to be in darkness.

Then the next words of Jesus follow naturally:

“You cannot serve God and mammon.”

What my eyes see as precious, I begin to regard as treasure. Where my treasure is, there my heart will be also. And whatever my heart becomes bound to, I will eventually begin to serve.

That is why the eye stands between the treasure and the master.

What Is the Treasure of My Eyes?

So now I ask myself:

What looks beautiful to my eyes today? What looks precious?

What am I afraid to lose?

Can I rejoice when someone else receives the grace of God?

Is the character of Christ more precious to me than the glory of this world?

What I gave up once is not the most important question today.

What do my eyes see as treasure today?

Lord, keep my eyes from being deceived into mistaking the glitter of this world for light. Make my eyes clear, so that what You see as precious may be precious to me; what You see as beautiful may be beautiful to me; and what You see as glorious may be glorious to me.

May the treasure of my eyes be the treasure of Your eyes.