Punch in the Eye

One day before high school tennis practice, my brother and I were warming up with two of our teammates before Coach arrived. My brother was on the opposing side as I played the front position by the net. My partner lobbed a ball to the other side to be silly, upon which my brother (as brothers are want to do) hit the tennis ball as hard as he could directly at me.

But rather than hit my body, as he had intended, the ball hit me square in the face before I could react. My glasses instantly broke at the bridge, and somehow I ended up with a cut above my left eye.

If you've ever been poked or punched in the eye, whether from a tennis ball, a fist, a kitchen cabinet, or a little kid's finger, you know how much it hurts. So why is Jesus telling us in Matthew 5:27-29 to poke our own eyes out?

A Punch to Correct Your Vision

We are continuing in our summer blog series Punch in the Face this week by looking at the shocking words of Jesus in Matthew 5:27-29. While most people get blurry vision when they are knocked upside the head, Jesus is hoping His spiritual punch on the topic of lust will clear up our spiritual and sexual vision.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away." (Matthew 5:27-29, ESV)

Every person you interact with is made in the image of God. In other words, they were made to glorify God, not for your sexual satisfaction. Thus it is wrong to look at a person with "lustful intent," dreaming of what it would be like to find sexual gratification through the selfish use of their body. Lust is wrong because it reveals both a lack of contentment with what you already have and a lack of trust that the Lord will provide everything you need.

But it is hard to shake the desire for sexual connection! After all, God created sex and created humans with sexual desires. So what do you do when lust seems to keep getting the better of you and your eyes continue to wander? You "poke" your eye out!

Not really. Jesus is using hyperbole to make His point. The graphic image of stabbing our your own eye should startle you into realizing the seriousness of lust. But why not obey Jesus' words at their surface level? Because lust is not truly an eye problem - it is a heart problem. And God wants your heart. He wants all of you.

So what might you need to "tear out" to protect your eyes and heart from lust, so that you might be able to give more of yourself to the Lord? An app on your phone? Block a certain website? Stop watching a certain show? Confess to a fellow Jesus-follower who will apply both grace and truth to your life?

Lust is not a 21st century challenge. It is something that has plagued mankind for as long as sin has existed. Sin delights in taking something good created by God and twisting it into something that damages our souls. So let the "punch" of Jesus from Matthew 5:27-29 help you take whatever step you need to let Jesus reign over every part of your life, including your sexual appetite.