Pastor’s Corner: “Spiritual Myopia”
2 Peter 1:5-9 (NIV) – 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
After a man went through a painful minor surgery on his left eye, his doctor recommended a vision test. With confidence, he covered his right eye and read each line on the chart with ease. Covering his left eye, he gasped. How could he not realize he’d been so blind? Have you ever had this type of a-ha moment? Maybe not only physically but spiritually as well.
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a condition in which the eye cannot focus on distant objects. Today this physical defect is easily treatable with corrective lenses. But spiritual myopia is more dangerous because it has consequences throughout eternity. Did you know a person can have 20/20 vision and yet be nearsighted spiritually? For many of us, though we may not be naturally short-sighted, we have a severe case of spiritual nearsightedness. That’s what happens when someone pursues short-term desires instead of the qualities God values: faith, virtue, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (2 Pet. 1:5-7).We have trouble seeing anything that isn’t right in front of us. We focus on our immediate circumstances but have no ability to look past them. Focusing only on what we can see up-close—our pain and ever-changing circumstances— we can become blind to the faithfulness of our eternal and unchanging God. With such a limited perspective, hope becomes an unattainable and blurry.
Biblical stories about spiritually shortsighted people caution us against sacrificing future blessings for more immediate gratification and that is exactly what happened with Esau: Genesis 25:27-34 (NLT) – Esau Sells His Birthright – 27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) 31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” 33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
This sounds very foolish to us, yet we too can give up something excellent for temporary satisfaction. This happens when we give higher priority to our desires, appetites, or emotions than to the Lord. If our focus is on the temporal rather than the eternal, we’ll make decisions based on today’s needs and desires without considering tomorrow’s consequences. In doing so, we sacrifice lasting treasure for fleeting satisfaction.
And it is not just limited to Esau. Take Saul, for instance: He was Israel’s first king, but when he decided his way was better than God’s, the Lord took his kingdom away and gave it to David (1 Sam. 15:1-28). And, sadly, David himself is another example. He had been faithful for many years but in a moment of weakness made a devastating choice: His desire for Bathsheba led him to commit both adultery and murder. Although he repented and was forgiven, the consequences of his sin impacted the rest of his life (2 Sam. 12:7-14).
To guard against what happened to Esau, Saul and David, avoid making important decisions in times of physical, emotional, or spiritual weakness. Take time to ask the Lord for guidance, and let biblical principles guide your thinking. Remember, self-control is a virtue God highly values (Gal. 5:22-23; 2 Pet. 1:5-8). So view every temptation to satisfy desires quickly as an opportunity to practice self-restraint and trust God.
Without a clear view of what actually counts, we are quickly distracted by lesser things in life. 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV) – 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. To avoid the kind of mistakes these men made, we need to prioritize God’s long-term goals for us. In other words, we must cherish the eternal over the temporal and strengthen our faith with godly habits.
In His Grace
Pastor Hamilton