I have been severely nearsighted for as long as I can remember. As a child my depth perception was lacking. I can remember walking through doorways and cracking my shoulder into the door frame or reaching for a doorknob and missing. You drop a lot of stuff when you’re nearsighted. Mom never trusted me to carry drinks to the dinner table.
And it surely doesn’t help you in athletic activities. I remember being in the outfield during backyard baseball games when the batter would hit a fly ball that I was certain was going to drop in front of me. So I would charge in to catch it, only to watch it sail well over my head to the collective groan of my teammates.
Facing reality
I hated the idea of wearing glasses. Kids made fun of those who wore glasses. Every year in elementary school they would haul out the same old eye chart to test your vision. I had that thing memorized right down to the 20/20 vision line. Then in fifth grade, the school double-crossed me and used a new eye chart. I was busted. The school informed my parents that I was basically blind as a bat, and soon after that I was wearing thick glasses with black frames. I looked like that guy in the movie “Revenge of the Nerds.” I’ve worn glasses or contact lenses ever since.
‘Worth the abuse’
Of course, it wasn’t long before I was kiddingly labeled “Four Eyes” by my friends. Funny thing though, I quickly learned that seeing the world around me more clearly was well worth the abuse.
I thought about this recently when I happened to be reading through the book of Philippians. There’s a verse that says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (2:3). It’s easy to fall into the trap of being spiritually nearsighted. You just see your own needs and desires. I guess the Bible can be a kind of sharp pair of glasses that brings the real meaning of life into focus as you worship Him as Lord and serve others. That’s 20/20 vision for living.
We exist in a world where values and priorities are becoming a little more blurry every day. It’s important that we can see God’s will for our lives clearly. The Bible is our new eye chart.
Share with others: