QUESTION: In Matthew 6:22,23 we read, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" What do these verses mean?

ANSWER: The Lord Jesus is using the body and the eye here to describe the spiritual condition of a person. In the physical realm it is through the eye gate that light is received into the body.

"When someone looks at an object, what he really sees is the light reflected from that object. This reflected light passes through the lens and falls on the retina of the eye. Here the light induces nerve impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain and then over other nerves to muscles and glands" (Compton's Encyclopedia).

So it is in spiritual things. The Lord Jesus said of Himself, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). "For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9). The Christian can say with David that God's Word is "a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). In this spiritual realm we refuse the light of God's Word by closing our eyes to the Lord and what He says in His Word.

In the verses preceding Matthew 6:22,23, the Lord Jesus tells us not to lay up treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. Instead we are to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where they are safe and secure.

If we lay up treasures upon earth, we have serious "eye" trouble. We are spiritually near-sighted. We are not looking at time in the light of eternity. The light that is in us becomes darkness because our hearts are set on the treasures of earth (Matthew 6:21). Our spiritual eyes, or the motives of our hearts, are focused on pleasing ourselves and living for temporal profit and gain. As a result, we will live unhappy and unfulfilled lives.

On the other hand, if we lay up treasures in heaven, our spiritual eyes are single, healthy and far-sighted. Our whole body will be flooded with light because our hearts are set on the treasures in heaven, and living for Him on earth. We will live happy and fulfilled lives knowing that our life is not in vain, and is pleasing to the Lord.

The next verse is closely connected to this question. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). "Mammon" is a Greek word which is used to signify wealth or riches. If our desire is to lay up for ourselves treasures upon earth, to accumulate riches, then these treasures will become our master. We cannot serve two masters.

These words of the Lord Jesus are needed by the Christian today. The popularity of casinos, lottery tickets, sweepstakes, the desire to accumulate things, to become rich and attain a good position in life are all traps for the Christian. Let us ask ourselves the question: "Do I have a single eye?" If so, I will seek to live wholly for Him.

—John D. McNeil