This post was last updated on April 22, 2026

Day 23 (Year 2)

Removing the Bad Eye

Jesus said, “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell.” (Mark 9:47 NASB)

If the eye of a believer’s heart is corrupted and cannot be changed—or as Jesus said, if an eye causes us to stumble—it is better to remove it. From this, we see that while praying for God to open the eyes of our hearts, believers must also take the initiative to deal with our sins seriously according to His words. It is unlikely that Jesus’ teaching refers to physical eyes. If that were the case, we should see accounts in the Book of Acts of believers who are without eyes. Instead, Jesus commanded us not to be held back by the stumbling perspectives, feelings, or attitudes that exist in the heart. The scripture mentions “one eye.” Thus, for Jesus, some people can possess both a good eye and a bad eye. By removing the bad perspective and keeping only the good one, we could enter the kingdom of God more easily.

I believe that if a believer’s eye is corrupted—becoming envious of others who receive God’s grace or hating those whom He loves—it is better to eliminate those perceptions, feelings, and evaluations. Indeed, the eyes of some people’s hearts should naturally be sensitive. But because their eyes focus too much on this world, are too influenced by surrounding people and environments, or dwell too much on their own erroneous feelings, the eyes turn bad. When they focus too much on visible things, it becomes difficult for the Lord to develop spiritual vision and sensitivity within their hearts.

What Jesus meant by removing the bad eye is to deliberately shift one’s attention away from resentment or other emotions stirred up by wrong comparisons regarding what others have received, and instead focus on His grace. When we shift our mindset in this direction with prayers, we are asking the Lord to remove the darkness that veils us. Meanwhile, we pray for God’s rule—His kingdom—to come upon us. We can then reflect on the reality behind those we have noticed, such as giving thanks for God’s generosity toward others, or praying with a heart that asks God to open someone’s eyes so they may sense their own problems. We can pray to receive God’s judgment, perspective, and will when we face current issues, making it easier to enter His kingdom and rise again from where we had stumbled or are about to stumble. After all, God’s kingdom is what every believer must enter, and we must throw away every bad perspective and mindset.

Reflection questions:

1) Can you notice when darkness occasionally veils you? If so, how do you rely on the Lord to deal with it?

2) Do you find any difficulty in turning off wrong perceptions, sensitivities, and evaluations while praying for the Lord Jesus’ perspective? If so, how would you rely on Him to resolve it?