We can be our own worst enemy or we can move out of the way

 

After saying that to someone, I was told to “say more.”

 

My response was, “two ears, one mouth. Listen more, say less. The words that will be said will be more impactful the more we listen.”

 

Then I was asked, “does this apply to eyes too?”

 

It took me a bit…had to marinate on that one for a while. After pulling away for a bit and going about my day, it came to me.

 

Here’s my two cents (two sense): One eye can pierce the external layer of something. Two eyes can look into a person’s soul. What we choose to do with our eyes is up to us. We can use them to look at the superficial side of someone (external looks) or we can use them to look at someone while we use our ears to listen and learn more about them…pierce their soul. We choose what we learn about others. We can choose to only see certain things or we can choose to see all things.

 

What happens when someone loses their sense of sight or hearing? Then what? According to an article by John Slaughton (Science ABC, 2019), “The beautiful thing about the brain is its plasticity, and studies have shown that the brains of blind infants don’t separate into those individual sections, allowing the visual and auditory cortexes to “team up” and heighten the sensitivity of hearing.” Basically, the senses will still be active as long as there is no other impairment to the brain, such as dementia or nerve damage.

 

Our eyes can be used for good or evil. Our mouths can be too. What we see is temporary – all of it. It even says so in 2 Corinthians 4 stating, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (NIV).” We have a choice on what to fix our eyes on. It’s the choices that can hold us back or bring us forward. It’s the choices that can keep us grounded or pull us in a direction we shouldn’t go. We are told in Matthew 18:9 says, “if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.” We are actually told this again in Mark 9:47 – the exact same thing. This is when I began to realize I had been using my eyes for the wrong things in the past. While I am not going to gouge my eye out, I am going to continue to work on what and whom I focus on. What we focus on determines who we are. It’s ultimately our choice to look at something or not. It’s our choice to listen or not. It’s our choice to speak or not. So how do we discern these things?

 

In my article entitled, “Discernment” (https://www.jodiwatkins.com/jodiswrites/discernment), I talk about the relationships we have in life and how they impact us into the future – how they impact our choices. Discernment means “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure: skill in discerning” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discernment). This basically means that we are able to tell the difference between things that don’t serve us and things that do. We are able to recognize people who truly want to support and encourage us and people who are only in it for personal gain. It may seem this should be an easy task, but if we are around people who aren’t going in the same direction, it becomes much more difficult. The Bible warns us in Matthew 7:15 (ERV) to “beware of false prophets. They come to you and look gentle like sheep. But they are really dangerous like wolves.” The wolves are the ones who can cause our eyes to be focused on the wrong things. We have to determine if that person is selfish or genuine. That’s the key to discernment. If they are selfish, they will pull you into the fire with them – if you allow them to. If they are genuine, they will pull you into a world of peace and mercy with them.

 

For those of us who have the option of using both our eyes AND our ears at the same time, we will be able to discern easily a person’s intentions. It’s the willingness to listen to the sixth sense we often ignore – the one that tells us we need to be careful. I used to be guarded, but then I didn’t let the genuine people in. I was so used to being hurt that I attracted the hurt people. These are the false prophets. These are the ones that can get us into trouble if we allow them to. However, what I can now say through years of experience is that we become more able to discern the older we get. We can learn who to trust and who to keep on the backburner. We don’t need to burn bridges because those who aren’t meant to be in our lives will burn them for us.

 

All we have to do is do what’s right. We have to live a life and treat people the way we want to be treated. This is something I have my daughter say each day – treat others like you want to be treated. My hope is that she will eventually do what I did and realize how factual that is. If I don’t want to be hurt, I shouldn’t hurt anyone else. If I want to be loved, I must love. If I want to feel important, I have to make others feel important. My chiropractor once told me, “we get back what we put out.” That’s a statement to truly marinate on.

 

Thoughts?

 

Reach out to support@jodiwatkins.com.

 

References:

 

National Caregivers Library. (2019). Talking to the sight or hearing impaired. Retrieved from http://www.caregiverslibrary.org/Caregivers-Resources/GRP-Caregiving-Basics-Topic/HSGRP-Communication/Talking-To-The-Sight-Or-Hearing-Impaired-Article.

 

Staughton, J. (2019). Does losing one sense improve the others? Science ABC. Retrieved from https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/does-losing-one-sense-improve-the-others.html.

 

Watkins, J. (2021). Discernment. Retrieved from https://www.jodiwatkins.com/jodiswrites/discernment.