By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
A few days ago I had to make an unplanned visit to my optometrist’s office to have my frames adjusted. A word of advice — don’t fall asleep with your glasses on. Bad things can happen.
While they were being adjusted, Phil Hammond, my optometrist and longtime friend, saw me and stopped by to chat. When he asked how I was doing, I mentioned I didn’t seem to be seeing as well as I was just a few months before.
He immediately suspected what my problem was and took me to an examining room and had me cover my left eye. When he asked me to read the bottom line, I took a gulp. Not only could I not read the bottom line, I couldn’t read the 40-point type on the top line. In fact, I could not swear there were even letters on the screen. But when I covered my right eye, I could read the letters clearly.
Phil then broke the news that he had warned me about for several years — I have cataracts and will need surgery to correct the problem. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear but after not being able to read those letters with my right eye, I knew I had no choice.
Lonnie Wilkey
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a cataract is “when your eye’s natural lens becomes cloudy,” causing things to appear blurred.
Thankfully, medical technology has progressed so that cataracts can be safely removed so one can see clearly again. While I’m not looking forward to the surgery, I am looking forward to being able to see clearly again.
My eyes are my lens to the world. I began to think about my spiritual life and I realized that God’s Holy Word, the Bible, is my spiritual lens. Without the Bible, my view of the world will always be distorted. God’s Word gives absolute clarity as to how we should live and act during the time He has allowed us to live on earth.
As I pondered that thought, I began to realize our spiritual lens can also be blurred by “cataracts.”
Here are some of the “cataracts” that can hinder, blur or even completely block our worldview.
• Perceived lack of time. I use the word “perceived” because we all have 24 hours in a single day to use as we see fit. How many of us use the excuse, “I don’t have time” to read and study the Bible? We have all the time we need. We fall short on how we prioritize that time.
• Laziness. Christians sometimes are just lazy when it comes to spiritual matters. We know that we need to pray and study God’s Word but we don’t. We even say we should make the time, but we don’t. There is always something else to do.
• Apathy/complacency. Too often, Christians become immune to what is going on around them. The longer they allow themselves to not read and study the Bible, the easier it is to forget its importance. We become a part of the world instead of working to make a difference in the world. Our lens on life becomes extremely blurred. We begin to think, “Why bother reading the Bible. What difference does it make?”
• Culture. Well-meaning Christians sometimes let culture be their lens instead of God’s Word. That’s why we see so many false doctrines infiltrate our churches. That is why Critical Race Theory is a hotbed topic among Christians in our world today. Too many people are out of focus because a cultural cataract is obscuring their view. This is perhaps the most dangerous of the cataracts. If we let the world be our lens, instead of God’s Word, we are doomed.
• Political correctness. This could probably be lumped under culture, but I have made it a separate category. Some Christians don’t want to “offend” anyone so they go along with the crowd. That’s why some Christians won’t take a stand on issues like homosexuality, transgenders and other immoral issues. We don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
There are no doubt other “cataracts” that need to be removed in order to allow the Bible to be our “lens” on life.
The bottom line is that we, as Christians, need to examine ourselves. We need to determine if we are allowing something other than God’s Word to be the lens on how we view life.
If God’s Word is being blurred or blocked by anything, we need to remove it and get our focus back.
Romans 12:2 (HCSB) is a good guide to make sure our spiritual lens is clear: “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.”
When we do that, we can be assured our vision is once again in perfect focus. B&R
