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How's Your "I" Sight?
Not exactly sure where it came from, but while doing some cleaning and sorting this week, I uncovered a dusty box of really old pictures. Opening the lid, I smiled at the faded black-and- white prints of little me smiling back at old me from years long past. Precious memories flooded over me and I was swept away with pleasure, remembering.
Then I saw it. Scrawny, awkward, and beaming. The ghastly picture of me sporting my very first pair of bright pink, glitter-spattered eye glasses. I’d be embarrassed for you to see it. What was my mother thinking? How could she have allowed a clueless seven-year-old to pick out such unattractive, gaudy eyewear? And she let me wear them in front of people!
Well, that’s what I am saying now, but if I think back a few decades, back to that very exciting and monumental childhood event, those specs were the cat’s meow! I couldn’t wait to wear them. I hate to brag, but I was pretty hot stuff. At least, that’s what my daddy said when he saw me sparkling. Now that I think about it, he had pretty bad eyesight too…
But more important than all of the added glamor those glasses afforded me, when I put them on, I could see. Really see.
There actually was writing on that blackboard at school. There really were birds in the trees making that lovely racket. There was a real ball whizzing toward home plate when I stood helplessly holding the bat. People truly did have faces with eyes. TV shows weren’t fuzzy at all. Who knew? My glasses were amazing, ugly as they were. They changed my world. What a blessing for a freckled kid with such poor eyesight! I am so grateful for my glasses.
You know, I think many of us have poor eyesight. But, sadly, I think our “I” sight is pretty perfect. Twenty-twenty, in fact. Do you know what I mean?
For example, I rummaged through that old box of photographs for several minutes the day I discovered it. It was filled with family pictures, pictures of people I love best in this whole world. But do you know who I searched for first in each print? Me, of course. Did I look cute? Was I a nerd? Did I look fat? Why didn’t I pick out cooler glasses?
“I” sight. All my focus on me. Looking out for old number one.
Now maybe you don’t think that is so bad. It’s natural to notice ourselves. But I think we take that “notice” to a very unhealthy and dangerous extreme. I contend that our very good “I” sight is the root cause of many of the problems we are facing in our lives.
Paul Tripp in New Morning Mercies describes this common malady well.
You see it in the whines of a little boy, you see it in the entitlement of the teenager, you see it in the needless argument of the married couple over something unimportant, and you see it in the bitterness of the old man. None of us has escaped this disease. It infects all of our hearts. It is the reason for so much of the brokenness, angst and pain of the human community. It is the foundation of so much unhappiness and generations of war. It is a personal and moral disaster yet it seduces us all. Its power draws all of us in. We see it in others and deny it in ourselves. It makes for uncomfortable family moments, friendship disloyalty and violence in the streets. It makes us envious and demanding. It causes discontent to be more natural than thankfulness. It ruins our vacations and holidays. It makes us spend ourselves into hopeless debt, to fall into paralyzing addiction, and to eat more than we ever should. It turns siblings on siblings and makes war-making more natural than peacemaking.
So what is it that causes us so much trouble and pain? It is “I”sight, the selfishness of sin, the idol of self. We focus on ourselves and make everything about us. What a tragedy for our loved ones! What a shallow life we live. Dr. Tripp continues.
We put ourselves in the center of the story. We evaluate life from the vantage point of a scary and tragic “me-ism.” We pull the borders of our concerns into the narrow confines of what we want, what we feel, what we dream and what we think we need. A good day is a day that is pleasurable or easy for me. A good circumstance is one in which I get my way. A good marriage is one in which my spouse becomes a servant to my dream for my life. A good church has the worship, programs, and preaching that satisfy me. A good job is one that keeps me happy and engaged. It is a life shaped by a shrunken kingdom of one.
But the first four words of the Bible confront us with the inescapable reality that it is not all about us. They confront us with the truth that life comes from, is controlled by, and exists for another. We will never be at the center because God is. It will never be about us because it’s about him. Our will won’t be done because his will will be done. We won’t rule because he rules. Our kingdom won’t come because his kingdom will. Life will not submit to us because ultimately all things will submit to him. His is at center stage. He is the spot lit character. Life is not to be found in putting ourselves at the center. That only leads to dysfunction, disappointment and brokenness. Jesus came to decimate our misplaced loyalty so that we would find freedom from our bondage to ourselves and know the peace that passes understanding. Adam and Eve’s rebellion becomes our delusion, and for that there is rescuing grace!
Let’s open our eyes—whether they are near-sighted or far-sighted or fine. Let’s not be deceived. Let’s embrace God’s saving grace. Let’s humbly and purposefully get—and keep—the right perspective, the eternal one. Let’s base our self-worth on our identity as beloved children of the King. Let’s get rid of the “I” sight altogether. Hebrews 12:2 (The Message) reminds us how we can do that.
…Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
When we find ourselves wallowing in our selfishness and struggling with the crumbling kingdom we have built for our personal glory, let’s lift our eyes to the Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, our story. Let’s remember all He has done to rescue us from such meaningless and trivial pursuits. Let’s live for his glory, for his purposes, his kingdom…and not our own.
Larry Bartlett lived like that. His life of selfless dedication and service can be summed up by a verse he had underlined in his Bible, a verse read at his beautiful funeral service this week. 2 Corinthians 5:16 tells us that Jesus “died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” What a God-honoring legacy he left behind. May God increase his tribe. No “I” sight there.
My prayer for us today is that we won’t have it either. That we won’t live for ourselves. That our Father will give us clear vision for his kingdom.
May he open the eyes of our hearts that we might see him high and lifted up, shining in the light of his glory, pouring out his power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy! What great lines from a familiar praise song.
No funky glasses needed for that, but we just might need some shades!
*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.
