Mind: At What Point Does Your Eyes Become The Enemy?
Deposits of this reasoning were first placed into my mental ‘syche when I was say ten years old. And it stemed from this passage:
This is Matthew 5:29. Don’t forget Mark 9:47.
I remember thinking what were the chances Jesus did not know what He was talking about? You see, my eyes are my most beloved part of the body. And being told to pluck one of them out just seemed like too much a price to pay. Mostly because, your eyes does not grow back like your finger nails. Should you lose an eye, well, that’s pretty much it.
But at what point does the eyes become the enemy?
Sometime last year, I don’t remember exactly when, I started observing that the eyes have a huge impact on how your mind makes decisions. A lot of reasoning and memory goes into the concepts the mind ponders upon before reaching a decision, however reason and memory can be tossed aside in many situations, based on the overwhelming input of sight.
It would do well to share an African folklore I was told as a child. Long ago, there once lived a man who fell in love with a beautiful young woman. The young lady was also in love with the young man. It’s not important to note that the man could see the beauty of the lady, but the lady had no sight, for she was blind from birth. She loved him for his tenderness and care. He loved her ideas and interests. The story goes, one day the man went to the local herbalist (medicine man) with a heartfelt request. He asked for his eyes to be taken out and given to the woman he loves, so she can also enjoy the beauty of life and the wonderful works of creation that surrounds them, for what’s his was hers to share. And so it was done. His sight was given to her and he became blind. The lady, now able to see, introduced to new senses, soon realizes he doesn’t resemble who she had thought him to be all along. So, she left him.
Have you closed your eyes to enjoy the warming breeze of a new day? How is it a meal tastes better and smells better when you’re blindfolded? Have you closed your eyes when you hug or kiss a loved one? Have you closed your eyes when driving over a puddle? Have you closed your eyes when you absolutely have to concentrate? Have you connected so deeply with someone you’ve never met in person, only for things to fall apart when you eventually meet in person? Are there people in your life you can be great with as long as you’re not in the same room together? Want to know a secret? The only reason a rollercoaster is scary is because your eyes are open when you’re on it. Try it if you could, ride a rollercoaster with your eyes closed, it’d be one of the most pleasurable experiences you’ve encountered.
Those smarter than me would say, if you can control the eyes, you can control the person. Now is it any mystery why television advertisements are more impactful and successful than radio commercials? That’s the whole point of social media, eyeball real estate. Who can garner the most eyeballs.
When the Bible says “Guard your mind”, did it mean guard your eyes? Don’t forget Phil 4:7.
Your eyes are the gateway to your mind. How do you then manage the influencial power of the eyes over the mind? Don’t misunderstand, the eyes’ very important and its information very useful but it’s not all butter.
It is indeed necessary to engage the good information from your eyes yet not lose opportunities because they do not look like what you expected. “What you see” shouldn’t be all there is to a situation. For often times, what we don’t see is much more than what we do see.
Is it helpful to know that even majority of the information available to the eyes is not processed or acknowledged? Because the brain can only take in a given amount of information from the overload available to the eyes.
The world spreads the survival wisdom that seeing is believing, and I understand how that could be thought to be so. However, God introduces believing is seeing and seeing is not believing — for believing has to take hold first, for you to see. It is the Jesus was, before Abraham paradigm. You should be familiar with that story.
Is it a marvel then that Faith goes against sight? Think about it. One could almost say Faith is the opposite of Sight. If Eve was not shown the tree and fruit of Good and Evil, think she might have still had a defying appetite? Do you know thieves are least likely to rob you if they cannot see what to rob from you?
Something is lost when we see. Something is missing when we have to see to know. Maybe it’s because we only have but a short while on this earth and we would rather have assurances before we leap because we don’t have time to waste. Yet a lot of time is wasted by focusing entirely on what we see and what we can recognize.
A King is greatly influenced by his most trusted adviser. Who then is king, the one who holds the title or the one who directs the one holding the title?
Rollo wrote, “a woman who has to teach a man how to be a man is not the right woman for the man”. After these years, I finally have a new understanding and he’s right. For if she teaches the man how to be a man, who then is the “man”? the one who holds the title or the one who directs the one holding the title?
Think of your eyes and mind the same way. The eyes thinks “See how far you have to go”, The mind says “One foot at a time.”
I have a higher sense of confidence when I walk with my eyes closed. For that brief moment, I remind my mind, “You are King and are completely capable of making decisions entirely on your own. Recognize this as you now engage the eyes, yet understanding and remembering that you are King and you should not believe everything you see.”
What have you missed out on because of how it looked?
Who have you missed out on because of how they looked?
What have you been entrapped by because of how it looked?
Something to think on.
With Love,
Famous Steve.
