Life With One Eye (Matthew 18:9)

 


Monday, 27 October, 2025


Psalm 140

2 Kings 9:1-16

Matthew 18:1-14


Life With One Eye (Matthew 18:9)


And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.


I had to delete social media off my devices again recently. It’s a personal thing I have, and I don’t want to bind anyone’s conscience about social media. But it’s just too much; every second I spend on it I regret, because of all the other things I could be doing with my life.


A benefit I find from avoiding it, however, is that I am (almost) blissfully unaware of church politics, or human politics, or international gossip, or any other number of things that have almost zero effect on my life.


And I thought about this when I read today’s words from Jesus cutting out an eye and therefore entering life. I couldn’t help but think of my lack of vision from less time spent on the internet. Even so, by knowing less, I have been able to engage more with things that actually matter: visiting the widow in hospital; raising my son; prayer and meditation. A gift from God, the internet, was being misused, and it led me to sin. By cutting off that temptation, I was set free to participate in the eternal things of life instead. It is a curious thing, but there you go. In the world to come, there won’t be any of these troubles, thankfully. Everything we get from God we will be able to use perfectly for his glory. In the meantime, we have to be a little more circumspect.


What are the things in your life that are eternal? What are temporary? How might you spend more time on the eternal?


Lord our Saviour, you have given us all things for our good: give us the wisdom from above to be able to know how to use your gifts for your glory, and the courage to leave them alone when we cannot.

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