Matthew 6:23, commentary and pictures

The eye is both the outward sight and the inward sight of conscience by which good and evil are judged and truth is received. A single eye fills the whole life with light, but an evil, divided eye fills the whole life with darkness, and when the light that should be within is itself darkness, that darkness is great. It stands between laying up treasure in heaven and refusing divided service to God and mammon by seeking first the kingdom of God, for where treasure is the heart will be also. The eye becomes evil by fixing desire on earthly treasure and worldly gain, by selfish purpose that does not behold Jesus, and by divided loyalty that tries to serve both God and mammon. Light given by God but not cherished and lived up to becomes darkness within, in proportion to the light rejected, and the eye is kept single by fixing it on Christ and on the heavenly crown in singleness of purpose to the glory of God.

Eye, Light, and Setting

The eye is both the bodily eye that sees outward objects and the spiritual eye, the conscience and inward sight by which good and evil are judged and truth is received. A healthy conscience leads the soul aright, while human perceptions unguided and unsoftened by grace leave the mind diseased and seeing in distorted, false light. Inward sight and understanding determine whether the whole life is filled with light or darkness, for discerning and obeying truth brings light to the whole course of life and sanctifies, whereas refusing to seek truth and accepting error as truth leaves the soul dark and corrupts conduct and character. A single, spiritually enlightened mind can discern divine agency, but an evil or darkened mind cannot, and when people turn from God to trust human power their light becomes darkness so they cannot be a light to the world. Spiritual eyesight can be impaired, abused, and hardened so that matters are seen falsely and judgment is misled, when perceptions are not brought into harmony with the Word; submitting to the divine will heals that sight, corrects judgment, and improves the health of the whole being, even restoring righteousness, kindness, and thoughtfulness in close relations such as that of a husband.

A single eye fills the whole body and life with light, but an evil, divided eye fills the whole body and life with darkness, and when the light that should be within is itself darkness, that darkness is great and profound. When a person is not focused on divine glory, understanding is turned aside so things are seen falsely and others’ words and motives are misjudged. In its setting the evil eye belongs to earthly treasure and serving mammon: a covetous, divided heart that loves and clings to earthly riches conflicts with wholehearted service to God, darkens judgment, and keeps from serving Him fully. The eye is single when focus is set on heavenly treasure and the enduring crown, and evil when directed toward perishable wealth, worldly riches, and delusions; that misplaced aim darkens life, warns against attachment to what perishes, and leads to failure. The saying therefore calls for close self-examination about where the heart is directed, that teachers of truth may see eye to eye with Christ rather than walk in great inner darkness.

The saying stands between laying up treasure in heaven with a single eye that fills the body with light and refusing divided service and anxious care by seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, because where treasure is the heart will be also. It forbids making buying and possessing the principal burden and forbids laying up treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal, commanding instead treasure in heaven where nothing corrupts or steals; to become entangled in worldly possessions so there is no means for the treasury is to do the very thing forbidden. No one can serve two masters, but will hate one and love the other, and no one can serve both God and mammon, for the world is a hard master and an agent to captivate souls; no one lives to self, and no excuse of lack of time for study, of children, or of busy domestic duties can set aside given responsibilities. It belongs to the command not to lay up treasures on earth, exposing the dangers and unbelief of the present time and calling hearers to walk by faith, to trust the Father’s provision, and to live as servants with loins girded and lights burning, waiting for their Lord as faithful and wise stewards giving meat in due season, sober, watchful, prayerful, charitable, and hospitable in ministering grace because the end is at hand. It calls stewards not to tie up money in banks but to withdraw hoarded means and put them into circulation in mission fields without delay, and it enlightens parents not to scold, fret, or punish children harshly in anger, but to act as teachers in God’s place doing His will in every detail and bringing them up in strict temperance.

The saying was spoken in the Sermon on the Mount, where false ideas about God’s kingdom were corrected and its conditions of entrance taught in truths plain enough for even the unlearned to understand. Those truths shone as light amid general darkness and error, teaching the far-reaching principles of the law that must be impressed on the heart. The state of the heart regulates life and character, and obeying the claims of the law requires having its spirit within; unless those principles are impressed on the heart, labor to teach the law is lost. There failure to walk in the light given separates from God, and darkness comes in the same proportion as light has shone, exposing the state of those whose neglect of the Word and refusal to walk in light were cutting them off, while perfect obedience to the commandments and walking in given light are required.

What Makes the Eye Evil

The evil eye is attention, desire and affection fixed on earthly treasure, perishable riches and worldly gain rather than on the heavenly crown and enduring treasure, and when the eye turns earthward the whole life is filled with darkness. Where treasure is there the heart will be also, so attachment to worldly ways diverts God's entrusted means from helping people and advancing His work and shows a heart turned from sacred stewardship. Like the slothful servant the mind is turned constantly earthward instead of heavenward by investing the Lord's money in worldly enterprises and worldly schemes to please and glorify self, in selfishness, worldliness, pride and self-indulgence for own pleasure, instead of using it to bring many sons and daughters to God and lay up treasure in heaven. Singleness of purpose toward God in the use of means therefore calls for strict economy, thank offerings from what He has given, and laying up treasure in heaven where the heart follows, instead of laying up treasure on earth and trying to serve God and mammon.

The evil eye is a selfish, self-directed purpose that does not look to Jesus and behold His character, so the person is not changed into His image and the way to heaven is darkened. When a person works only for selfish ends the whole character is defective and filled with spiritual darkness, spiritual vision fails, conscience the faculty that guides conduct is perverted and can no longer direct rightly, and Satan can lead the person to ruin. Life's purpose and conduct reveal whether a person follows Christ or rebels against God, and a distorted, divided life misdirects every faculty, so that practice exposes faith as perverted even when profession appears right and misleads others. When self-interest takes priority over God's work and eternal concerns the light within is dark, the person cannot serve as a faithful instrument, and however active or respected, inward darkness makes the professed Christian a snare to others without Christlike character, devotion, humility, daily conversion and the Spirit's work.

The evil eye is divided loyalty that tries to look to both the world and Christ and to serve both God and mammon, including wavering trust and withholding part of oneself from God. Wavering, divided purpose prevents receiving God's light, for purity and steadfastness of purpose are necessary to receive it, and whoever seeks truth must accept all it reveals and make no compromise with error, since half-hearted loyalty to truth is a choice of error and satanic delusion. When the eye of faith is obscured and a person cannot see God the whole inner life is darkened, wavering trust leaves an opening for Satan's temptations, and in that darkness sin faces no barrier. Christ wept and prayed over souls snared and selling themselves for worldly gain, calling for arousing and putting away all weakness of flesh and spirit and refusing to lay up treasure on earth, for closing the soul to heaven's light and turning toward earthly things makes everything seen in a perverted light.

Love of self blinds the eye, expels the love of God, and fills the vacuum with love of the world, and indulged sinful desire increases aversion to God and deepens blindness at each step. This blindness kept the Jews in stubborn unbelief so they could not recognize Christ's character or mission to save them from sin and could not appreciate Him. When Satan's temptation to make the world all-absorbing prevails no earthly power can change the order, and only the love of God brought back to the heart with the power of God working with human effort can dislodge love of the world by keeping a better world in view. A person may still claim to possess truth and belong to God's people while remaining in deep spiritual darkness, with love of the world and deceitfulness of riches choking the word and leaving the life unfruitful, professing to know God while works deny Him.

The evil eye includes egotism, envy, jealousy and strife for place, position, honor, recognition and supremacy. It is seen in elbowing fellow workers aside to make room for personal plans, in hasty temper, cruel speech and unkind thought, in love of worldly praise, in the determination to stand only if first, and in unwillingness to learn and to take a lower place under another man while lusting for supremacy. As long as this spirit is cherished the person cherishes as light what is in fact darkness, lacks the qualifications to stand at the head, and cannot increase in true knowledge, for highest happiness is found only in humbling self under the mighty hand of God. Like the Pharisees who would not believe on Christ but sought and gained worldly honor, the evil eye loves praise and exaltation from others and thinks it can do something great as if God could not carry on His work without finite men, refusing to yield all talents to His service and lie at the feet of Jesus, which is the great cause of weakness. Contentment and yielding the will to the control of the Holy Spirit through obedience to the word of truth corrects this, so that honor is sought rightly by honoring Christ at every step, blessing and encouraging others in word, and desiring most to work just in the place God assigns where He can look with approval.

The eye becomes evil when Satan diverts the mind from the divine to the human to trust in man, make flesh its arm, follow human inventions and standards, and be guided by worldly theories, policies and wisdom mingled with the divine. Allowing the world to come between God and the soul's eternal interests obscures sanctified sight, so those guided by worldly theories and policies cannot perceive Satan's subtle efforts to cloud judgment nor distinguish good from evil, truth from falsehood, selfishness from unselfishness, and righteousness from idolatry. Leaders show this when they fail to distinguish those who serve God from those who do not, accept unbelievers' complaints as truth, and let worldly influence shape decisions, proving eyes not single to God's glory and working against God's cause. Even the greatest light and blessing gives no security against transgression and apostasy when people turn from heaven's light to human wisdom, for entrusted capabilities then become a snare and character an offense to God, and unless acts that displease God are decisively repented of and forsaken instead of justified, the evildoer advances step by step in deception until many sins are committed with impunity.

The evil eye includes fixing sight on evil and letting the mind dwell on objectionable things, seeing through Satan's influence which perverts the senses and shapes the whole experience to harm soul and body. It includes desire for outward display and self-adornment, spending for self precious time that should be spent searching the Scriptures, so that because the eye is not single divine truth through the Word is not received and unrest and sorrow remain instead of peace and joy. It includes misuse of body, mind and means to gratify unhealthy appetites instead of putting gifts to God's service and sending light to those in need, making a person a slave to destructive habits and accountable to God. The body's lower desires then overcome the mind's nobler powers, clouding moral judgment and perception of God's Word, as in corrupting indulgences such as beer or wine which darken the person and hinder restoration of God's image. Evil can become so ingrained that even thoughts are evil continually, and claiming no impure thoughts or evil intent while inducing another to do impure acts proves deliberate planning to gratify lustful desire and corrupt pure minds by satanic reasoning, while sanctified eyes turn from evil, keep eternity in view, and beholding Jesus change the person into His likeness.

How Light Becomes Darkness

Light given by God but not cherished, walked in, lived up to, and acted upon becomes darkness within the person, and the greater the neglected light and privilege the greater the darkness. Walking in the knowledge of the truth keeps the light shining to others in spirit, words, and actions as fruitful branches of the living vine, while claiming to love God while cherishing sin puts a person in that darkness so that God does not hear prayer and gives no strength because He does not minister to sin. Neglecting to live by light already received turns that light into darkness, leaves faith and religious life weak and unfruitful, and brings spiritual weakness upon God's people because accumulated light brings responsibility. Refusing to cherish the light calls for a prepared, receptive mind and persevering effort to keep pace with truth, and self-sufficiency that relies on one's own wisdom leaves a person to darkness.

Rejecting the light and truth God sends, refusing evidence, calling the Holy Spirit's work satanic, and calling God's light darkness and error shuts out the channel through which God works on the heart and turns inner light into darkness. The scribes and Pharisees illustrate this by refusing the evidence of Christ, clinging to human traditions, and choosing a way that suited their sinful practices, so they could not discern holiness or its fruit and were left in profound spiritual blindness through unbelief and refusal of light. Resisting the Spirit's work and its impressions moves a person farther from the light and from God, leaving the soul in a grave state of spiritual darkness, and as people turn from Christ and the truth they become deceived and misunderstand until their whole life is filled with darkness. Outward appearance may for a time suggest they are God's children, but later circumstances reveal that they stand on the enemy's side.

By neglecting to cherish light and walk promptly in it, stifling conviction, and resisting plain evidence, the spiritual senses become dulled, the desire to submit to God and do His will is no longer felt, and the most pointed appeals are without effect. Repeated resistance to the Spirit makes the person less responsive to further light until it no longer impresses him, for truth resisted is perverted and increases the soul's blindness. God then withdraws His Spirit and restraining power and leaves the person to the inclinations of his own heart and to self, until there is no power to do otherwise, which is the sin against the Holy Ghost by which the sinner destroys himself through his own impenitence. This is the condition of a soul that has rejected mercy and truth and resisted the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to the soul, in which the person stops growing in grace, walks in darkness, and may lead others away from peace, joy, and righteousness through the Holy Spirit, though Jesus offers the light of life to bring those in darkness into God's marvelous light. When a person does not respond to the light of truth and righteousness by rising in moral and intellectual power and cooperating with divine influence, that light becomes darkness to them, for understanding and heart must remain closely connected to pure, sacred sources of light and inspiration, and what should enlighten instead leaves them hardened and unimpressible.

Each refusal of truth increases responsibility and makes further resistance easier until the heart is hardened, barricaded against the Holy Spirit, and no longer impressed even by greater light. Pharaoh is the clear illustration of this darkness, with each refusal met by clearer evidence and stronger appeals yet growing obstinacy until fixed in unbelief. Deliberately stifling convictions and spurning truth eventually weaken the ability to distinguish truth from error, harden conscience and heart, and separate the soul from God, until people sow unbelief and reap unbelief, mistake darkness for light, and lose understanding and desire for salvation. God does not destroy people or abandon them while there remains hope but continues to offer warnings, compassion, and opportunities, yet those who resist the Spirit prepare themselves for still greater resistance until mercy is exhausted and the man is given up to his own unbelief and hardness where the Holy Spirit cannot find access. The Jewish people's devotion to the world and neglect of God's Word left them ignorant of the Messiah and led them to reject Him, and their continued religious forms could not restore the light they had rejected.

The resulting darkness is measured by the light rejected: failing to walk in light separates from God in the same proportion as light shone, the measure of light given becomes the measure of guilt for inexcusable neglect of God's gifts, and greater light brings greater accountability to live faithfully and share truth. Refusing the light God gives makes a person's inner light become darkness, and that darkness is very great and grows in proportion to the light rejected. Light is the religious privileges and advantages given to learn wisdom and to act with wisdom to save souls from ruin, and when a person does not live up to that light and does not appreciate the light shining all around, darkness comes upon him. Every ray of light must be received and cherished or a person becomes a body of darkness, which warns against disregarding even a small commandment or making excuses for disobedience, and requires heeding the light given in one's own time rather than repeating earlier reformers' work without improving on it.

Even the greatest light and blessing gives no security against transgression and apostasy in the last days when people turn from heaven's light to human wisdom. Those whom God has exalted to high positions of trust may so turn, and their light then becomes darkness, their God-entrusted capabilities become a snare, and their character becomes an offense to God. Only obedience to God's requirements keeps a person from apostasy, for a departure from God has been and always will be followed by its sure results, since God will not be mocked. Committing acts that displease God, unless decisively repented of and forsaken instead of justified, leads the evildoer step by step in deception until many sins are committed with impunity. To possess a character that makes them workers together with God and receives God's commendation, people must separate themselves from the enemies of God and maintain the truth Christ gave to John to give to the world.

Rejecting Christ's light and choosing another leader fills a person with spiritual darkness, bringing misconception, deception, and control by evil until they turn from truth and act against Christ.

Effects of Inner Darkness

When the inner light is darkness the whole character is defective and the mind is diseased, and the person becomes a body of darkness carrying confusion and a cloud of evil. Clear sanctified sight enables distinguishing good from evil, truth from falsehood, selfishness from unselfishness, and righteousness from idolatry, but when discernment is darkened and the world comes between God and eternal interests that power is lost. A perverted conscience cannot guide rightly, so life reveals whether service is to God or rebellion against Him, and profession cannot make a distorted life true faith. Words and conduct follow the light by which things are viewed, and faint sense of sinfulness, treating sins as trifles, having no high sense of purity, and calling light darkness and darkness light show the inner light has become darkness. Ordering life by the truth of God in His word and diligent study of Scripture as the foundation of faith and assurance of eternal life, with gratitude recognizing every gift from God, belongs to learning this lesson.

A darkened eye perverts judgment so understanding is turned aside to see falsely and misjudge others' words and motives. The spiritual eye is the conscience by which good and evil are judged, healthy when leading aright, but diseased when human perceptions guide without being softened and subdued by grace, so things appear in distorted false light. The eye not single does not see clearly, holding mistaken ideas of God's mercy and love, letting the standard fall, and receiving false education where discipline fails among teachers and students, while clear sight keeps the standard elevated and life full of light. Cherished sin hardens the heart and weakens discernment, so those handling sacred things yet not walking in light have their light become darkness and misjudge character, exalting those without moral worth while failing to value and appreciate those seeking the Lord and following His steps. The remedy is putting away Pharisaism and self-righteousness and accepting Christ's righteousness by faith.

The eye is single when the mind is enlightened by the Holy Spirit to discern divine agency and cooperate with heaven, and evil when Satan diverts the mind from the divine to the human to trust in man, make flesh its arm, and follow human inventions and standards so faith does not take hold on God. Then the light within becomes darkness, and that darkness is great, leaving the person unable to do good in cooperation with God, unable to cooperate in personal salvation, and unable to be a light to the world. Christians cannot be the world's light by light of their own making but must receive and reflect glory from a heavenly source. Refusing light God gives turns it into darkness, so intended light-bearers are lost in surrounding darkness instead of guiding others, and must keep God's high standard rather than Satan's false standard bringing misery, degradation, disease, and death to body and soul.

Instead of letting light reach others the darkened person spreads suspicion, doubt, discouragement, and unbelief, strengthening unbelief by words, becoming less open to the Spirit, and turning into a channel of darkness. Attachment to worldly gain keeps inner life from right direction toward God, and one claiming to belong to God while out of right relation to Him misleads others. Practice exposes faith as perverted even when profession appears right, for a selfish purpose defects the whole character, darkens the way to heaven, perverts conscience, misdirects every faculty, and misleads others. Such a body of darkness may carry evil into meetings where darkness is apparent, while those failing to see in true light are confused and bewildered by fair words and smooth speeches.

Inner darkness leaves people disobedient and unfruitful because false values deceive through divided loyalty trying to look to both world and Christ. When the eye of faith is obscured and cannot see God the whole inner life is darkened, and wavering trust with withholding part of self from God opens the way to temptation so sin faces no barrier. Lower desires overcome nobler powers, clouding moral judgment and perception of God's Word, while an eye single to God's glory fills with light and perceives His Word clearly; disobedience and corrupting indulgences such as beer or wine darken and hinder restoration of His image. Love of the world and deceitfulness of riches choke the word, so one may claim truth and membership among God's people yet remain in deep darkness, professing to know God while works deny Him and leave no saving power.

People in this state can confidently believe they are right and in the light while drawing away from God and His people, and no greater delusion can deceive the mind when cherished light leads away from God and His work. Professed Christians of reputation may be in danger of Pharisaism yet unconscious of it, thinking all is well while working earnestly on a wrong line that seems right, building a fine structure on sand rather than solid rock with wrong ideas and confused false conceptions of God-appointed work. They may have light yet remain in great darkness by not understanding its claims or obeying it, believing themselves accepted while lives deny Him, mistaking outward godliness for its living spirit and power, and remaining satisfied though spiritually poor, blind, and in need. Dishonest overreaching business dealings show light become darkness when conduct contradicts professed truth, making influence harmful, reproaching truth, and preventing witness from doing good. The remedy begins at the heart, for if the heart is right with God the whole life is purified, refined, ennobled and sanctified and filled with light, with religion as heart subjected to Christ's Spirit bringing transforming grace into minutest deeds and devoting all hours in all places to saving souls, while humility keeping self out of sight and God in front gives far-reaching influence for good; therefore each must repent, cease faultfinding, and set the heart right before God.

What is taken for light can be false light leading into dense darkness, as pantheistic ideas about God in nature framed by Lucifer the fallen angel are accepted by many as beautiful truth yet lead receivers away from truth into dense darkness. Giving human beings glory and unlimited confidence for supposed excellence is likewise false light becoming worship of what is not truly known, for God alone is to be exalted and frail erring people are to humble themselves before Him.

Persons and Groups Warned

The Jews' devotion to the world and neglect of God's Word left them ignorant of the Messiah and led them to reject Him, for religious forms could not restore light once rejected. The scribes and Pharisees refused evidence, clung to human traditions that suited sinful practice, and could not discern holiness or its fruit. Their love of self blinded the eye and filled the whole person with darkness, producing stubborn unbelief that could not appreciate Christ's character and saving mission. Failure to walk in the light given separates from God in the same proportion as light has shone, and continued refusal weakens power to distinguish truth from error, hardens conscience and heart, and separates the soul from God. What remains within such rejecters becomes darkness itself, until they mistake darkness for light and lose understanding and desire for salvation.

Ancient Israel shows the same result on a national scale, for great light, warnings, knowledge of God, and privileges not lived by or valued became darkness. Following their own judgment instead of God's leading, captivated by idol worship, they deliberately despised and rejected God and His worship graciously given. Light rejected by deliberate choice becomes darkness to those who reject it.

The rich young man illustrates loving earthly treasure more than the cause of truth, choosing to keep his possessions rather than accept Christ's condition for following Him and receiving eternal life. Light once given but not cherished becomes darkness, and those who profess to follow Jesus yet fix interest and effort on earthly riches lose love for heaven. Deceived by short-lived attractions of wealth, they may fail to recognize that they love money more than heavenly treasure, for no one can love and worship earthly treasure and at the same time possess the true riches.

When love for Jesus and for one another grows cold, prayer is neglected, and selfishness and merely formal righteousness take hold, spiritual eyesight is lost and a church's light can go out. Formal religion that replaces first love and tenderness with mechanical orthodoxy leaves supposed light as spiritual blindness in grave danger. Though clear light has been given, a church whose light has become darkness is found wanting because its state and works fail to reflect it. Unless there is repentance and return to the first work, the candlestick can be removed and the darkness within proved great.

Those who handle sacred things but do not walk in spiritual light have that light become darkness to them, and the resulting darkness is great. Cherished sin hardens the heart, benumbs sensibility, and weakens discernment so that character is misjudged, those without moral worth exalted, and those who seek the Lord and follow His steps not appreciated. Leaders whose eyes are not single to God's glory fail to distinguish between those who serve God and those who do not, accept unbelievers' complaints as truth, let worldly influence shape decisions, and so work against God's cause. Serving selfish purposes instead of God's glory darkens inward vision and affects the whole course of action, as when mission means are diverted to ambitious designs and gain unjustly acquired at another's expense by mingling human wisdom with the divine. Such lust for gain and power shows failure to love God with the whole heart and neighbor as required and to meet the holy standard of the law as explained on the Mount, calling for repentance, conversion, works worthy of the Christian name, rejection of self-righteousness, acceptance of Christ's righteousness by faith, and cleansing of the soul temple.

Keeping the Eye Single

Fixing the eye on the heavenly crown and on Christ brings light that dispels darkness, while turning attention to earthly treasure leaves the light uncherished and turned to great darkness within. Keeping Christ in view fixes the eye on God's glory and enables discernment of what matters most, seeking to please Him and asking what must be done to be saved. Beholding Him as the light within the soul brings peace, steadies the soul on God, and engraves His image on the heart to be shown in practical obedience and reflected to others. Turning away from earthly treasure to earnestly seek the heavenly crown changes darkness and gloom to light, cheerfulness and holy joy, and keeps worldly attacks and mockery from staining the person. A single eye kept fixed on Jesus keeps the whole life full of light so that the world and its opinions do not turn a person from following Him.

A single eye is singleness of purpose to the glory of God, keeping God's Word rather than one's own ideas and standards as the rule. It is kept by learning Christ's meekness and lowliness, walking in His counsels, looking to Him to receive grace for grace to impart to others, and in this way preserving unity. Servants must be humbled and dead to self before their efforts can be accepted, serving without rash impulse or the control of passion and carnal desires. Spiritual sight is to be examined for clearness, with Christ as the pattern for a life whose deeds, words, purposes, habits, practices, motives and every part of character are directed toward eternal life and tested by God's standard of righteousness. Earnest study of Scripture and truth strengthens the mind narrowed by commonplace matters and directs it toward eternal things and the question of salvation.

Close self-examination is called for, for when what is within is darkness instead of light that darkness is great, and teachers of truth must see eye to eye with Christ. If the heart is right with God the whole life is purified, refined, ennobled and sanctified, which is the opposite single-eye condition where the whole body is filled with light. Religion is not externalities but a thing of the heart subjected to the Spirit of Christ, bringing transforming grace into the minutest deeds and every department of work and devoting all hours in all places to the one aim of saving souls for whom Christ died. Humility that keeps self out of sight and God in front gives a far-reaching influence for good, while a reputation for piety and active religious work cannot replace Christlike character, devotion, humility, daily conversion and the Spirit's work. Such darkness as diverts mission means to ambitious designs, unjustly acquires gain at another's expense, and mingles human wisdom with the divine requires repentance and conversion, doing works worthy of the Christian name, and a cleansing and purging of the soul temple. Those whose aim is not single to God's glory become a snare to others however respected, and those who lead in Christ's light teach by words and conduct with influence that turns others toward righteousness and truth.

Singleness toward God governs the use of means, for where treasure is laid there the heart will be also. Laying up treasure on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves steal darkens the life, while laying up treasure in heaven keeps it full of light. Christ left His heavenly home, high command, kingly crown and royal robe and became poor so fallen man might obtain eternal riches, and the disciple must be as his master and the servant as his lord through self-denial and self-sacrifice. An evil eye like that of the slothful servant turns the mind constantly earthward by investing the Lord's money in worldly enterprises and worldly schemes to please and glorify self, instead of using it to bring many sons and daughters to God. Singleness of purpose therefore calls for strict economy, bringing thank offerings to God from what He has given, withdrawing hoarded money from banks to put it into circulation in missionary fields without delay, and refusing land speculation, mining ventures and other grasping enterprises that divert means from God's work and foster an unwillingness to give.

Students and workers must train judgment, educate mental powers, and improve every power God has given so judgment is not feeble and inefficient. They are to shut the heart to foolishness and sin, close the door against fun, folly and indolence, open the heart to every good and heavenly influence, pray for guidance, commit the way unto the Lord, and make the most of time and opportunities. Character is to be formed by copying the Pattern Jesus Christ into a symmetrical, well-rounded growth, daily becoming more intelligent as to what to do to save the soul. Strength is not to be spent pursuing every kind of knowledge, but preserved for the work God gives, since intemperate study can act like intoxication, leading away from safe paths and causing stumbling. A single-minded desire for God's glory in faithfully warning the world brings God's Spirit, light and power, in contrast to inward vision darkened into moral darkness.

Applied to the body, singleness of eye toward God gives light to the body, while a divided eye brings darkness, belonging with the command that no one can serve two masters, God and mammon, and with the command to take no anxious thought for life, what to eat or drink, or for the body, what to put on, because life is more than meat and the body than raiment. It calls for living on simple food merely to satisfy hunger and not to gratify taste, so as not to burden the stomach and overwork the digestive organs created to digest food and not to be loaded down. Intemperate eating that brings sudden disease and death is to be avoided, with its many meals a day and its meat, coffee, tea and rich pastries, and with cooking that makes slaves in the home. Parents are enlightened by this teaching not to scold and fret at children or punish harshly in anger, but to act as teachers in God's place doing His mind and will in every detail and to bring them up in strict temperance. Ministers and believers who fail to advance with health reform light risk losing its benefit and becoming darkened, for refusing or working against light already received turns the very light within into great darkness.

Contentment and yielding the will to the control of the Holy Spirit through obedience to the word of truth keeps the eye single. Honor is then sought in the right way by honoring Christ at every step and revealing the fruits of righteousness in words that bless and encourage, with the greatest desire to work in just the place God assigns where He can look with approval, rather than elbowing fellow workers aside to make room for personal plans. The evil eye set on being rich and on strife for place, position, honor, recognition and supremacy fills the whole life with darkness, seen in hasty temper, cruel speech and unkind thought, in egotism, envy and jealousy, and in the determination to stand only if first with unwillingness to learn and take a lower place under another. One cherishing as light what is in fact darkness needs to take heed that the light in him be not darkness, for as long as this spirit is cherished he lacks the qualifications to stand at the head and cannot increase in true knowledge. Highest happiness is found only in humbling self under the mighty hand of God, refusing over-anxious dwelling on suppositions and unpleasant things, hoping and quietly waiting for the salvation of the Lord, trusting all with Jesus, rejoicing always, and filling the mind with what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report. Keeping the mind's eye thus fixed on God's glory guards against Satan's deception and keeps the person in the light rather than led into wrong.