This morning I shifted my study to the word “body”, and the first passage reminds me to fill my body with light.
“22The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23but 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 6:22-23 (ESV)
In this world today, it is easy to get sucked into the darkness. There are so many outlets that will draw me in that I have to make a conscious effort to avoid them. The internet, social media, news networks, TV and film are all breeding grounds for darkness. Notice all that I have listed above and how they enter our body, through the eyes. It is through the eyes that we are influenced. After all, seeing is believing, right?
It is no wonder that Jesus warns us of that which is infiltrating our bodies through our eyes. I see these two verses as the warning to stick close to the Word of God and avoid the darkness that is working around us. I have to be sure to focus on the good and Godly and avoid the bad and evil where I can.
I have worked hard to keep my focus on the LORD and avoid the idle times in my day. It is in those times of idle that I will find myself engaging in the breeding grounds for darkness. When I am idle, I look for something to “entertain” me and that leads me to the items I listed above, because they are easy engage.
It is so much better, although more difficult, to engage in the LORD as opposed to the societal influences that are perpetrated in the world. I have to remember, when idle, engage in the LORD through His Word. I have to grab my Bible and read. I have to get on my knees and pray. I have to engage in those activities and fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Where these are just great opportunities to learn and study God and bring glory to Him, they are also the way to keep light entering my body through my eyes and allowing me the chance to avoid the darkness.
I have to fill my body with light and that is done through the study of God’s Word and keeping active in His work as I avoid the darkness that surrounds me. I have to do as I am right now in studying and writing relating to the Word of God and that keeps me from the darkness and bringing glory to Him and light to me.
What are you allowing into your body through your eyes? Are you allowing yourself to be influenced by all that you see when you are active and/or idle? What if you focused your attention at all times on the Word of God and doing His work and avoiding the influence from the world and the darkness that is presented?
Trevor's Thoughts 