“For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins”
is shortsighted
We get our English word myopic from the Greek for “shortsighted.” To be “shortsighted” is to be near-sighted. In the spiritual context this term means to be extremely limited in spiritual understanding. Shortsighted people see only what is in front of them; they see only the temporal. They do not have the capacity to discern spiritual things.
Medically, Myopia means that the distant rays of light fall short of the retina of the eye. That light is only a blur. Aristotle used this word for a nearsighted man. He is not stone blind. Spiritually then, a person can have some spiritual sight but he has sin-sick sight.
Principle:
The spiritually shortsighted person sees only what is miserly.
Application:
Some Christians are spiritually near-sighted. They cannot see anything but their own world of needs. Mature Christians can see eternal values; they see beyond temporal values. They value the seven items of the chorus of verses 5-7.
But the spiritually short-sighted never develop their faith. They never “add to their faith” (1:5) so their faith never increases. They do not move on or up or out. They stay right where they are. They run on a treadmill underdeveloped Christians do not want to share their faith. They find it difficult to walk with God and have a regular devotional life. There is always some excuse. It is either too hot or too cold. It is too dry or too slippery. It is always too something.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [those who lived by faith of chapter 11], let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
No Christian should be a babe for ten years. He should get out his spiritual diapers as soon as possible.
But many Christians arrest their spiritual growth. People cater to them because their feelings are hurt so easily. Then they gossip. They will even slander others. Though they would not dare think about adultery they readily put others down. They rely on the strength of others to get them through emergencies, never becoming self-sufficient and always needing someone to nurse them through their next crisis.
Mature Christians come to their aid and nurse them through problems. It is one thing to require such help as a new Christian but it is another if a person has been a Christian for ten years. A child on the bottle after ten years is not a pretty sight.
Are you willing to be weaned from your spiritual immaturity?
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