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Text: Matthew 6:22-23
Eye as a window (vs 22)
- The light of the body is the eye…
- Evil eye is a common expression for looking at someone with a malicious agenda hidden in your heart. When you’re giving someone an evil eye or someone gives you an evil eye that means they have a malicious agenda that you can’t see. That phrase “evil eye” comes from the Bible.
- The evil eye is masking your motive for money. The eye is the window. People who are doing bad things in their home generally keep the blinds closed so no one knows what’s going on inside their home. A person is the same way who doesn’t want what’s actually going on inside their heart to be known. An evil eye is like darkness in a home when the shades have been pulled down to conceal what is actually going on. And what is going on inside your heart is you’ve pulled the blinds down so you can bow down at the altar of money (mammon) without the light seeing you.
- 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
- Evil is nourished through a love of money.
- Root system is invisible, it’s below the surface. The evil eye is the window with the shades pulled down so what’s going on inside is hidden.
The evil eye has money as the master
- Lack of generosity
- Deuteronomy 15:1-3, 7-9 Every 7th year was suppose to be a release of debt among the Hebrews. It’s a wonderful law that would teach the children of Israel about the sabbath rest being associated with God’s release of man’s debt.
- But here is the stupidity of sin and how something good is turned into something evil. So when the 7th year was coming around, some folks were tempted to withhold their treasure because there is a good possibility that time would run out before the borrower could pay them back. And the lender would have to release the debt and forfeit the loan.
- So the law that God gave Israel to show the generosity of God and to promote generosity among the people is turned into evil through unbelief. And they didn’t believe God because they were afraid of what they thought they would lose. How typical of human nature! You think you’re going to lose out by serving God.
- Hidden agenda of greed
- Proverbs 23:6-8 6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. 8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
- He’s acting kind because he wants to get something from you. You’re going to find that you’ve been poisoned or he got you drunk and all those niceties he lavished on you while you were eating are coming back up and going down the toilet along with the meal. But only after he’s got your signature on the papers or he’s taken from you what he was after in the first place.
- He serves his money god and he’s willing to do you evil in order serve his money god. For the love of money is the root of all evil.
- Get rich quick
- Proverbs 28:22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him
- Unfair wages
- Matthew 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
- Minimum wage, $15 living wage, all of those are ideas that come from an evil eye. A business owner can’t pay you what you and he agree on – even if you both agreed on it.
Evil eye is great darkness
- Aldrich Ames – CIA agent arrested in 1994 for spying against the United States
- Robert Hansen
- Judas Iscariot
- Judas was the one that held the bag of money. The apostles are wondering even up until the last minute who it is that should betray Jesus Christ.
- Following Jesus Christ, but not following Jesus Christ
- He became an unclean spirit by his defiled motive
- What’s Judas after? What offended him? What made him bitter enough to become a traitor?
- Matthew 26:6-16 – Judas wonders how could Jesus be so careless with that much money?!
- Mark 14:3-11
- John 12:1-6, 13:1
- Love of money is the root of all evil…1 Timothy 6:6-11, 17-19
The single eye
- Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- Colossians 3:22-24
