You’ve probably heard people use the phrase or term before. Tunnel Vision. It’s a true medical condition where the eyes have no peripheral vision, only able to see directly in front of them.
I have always heard this phrase when describing someone who is so focused on something, that they are missing everything else that is going on around them.
Let’s face it: we do have a lot going on in our lives and it is easy to be consumed with what we have going on, and the demands and pressure we feel to get everything done. However, the Bible tells us “do not look only to your own interests, but to the interest of others”. (Philippians 2:3-4)
That word “interest” means “what is best”.
The truth is that we can get so focused on ourselves and our little worlds that we have no idea what is going on around us! How can we do or say what is best for someone else if we are self-consumed?
How can we have someone else's best interest at heart, if we are self-consumed?
We play pickle ball with a super nice guy who always has a smile on his face. We just found out that his wife is going through cancer. What if we had been so consumed with winning against him that we never took the time to ask how he was doing? We would have never known and never had the opportunity to pray for his wife to be healed.
Self-consumption was never God’s intention for His sons and daughters.
On the flip side, there is one thing I can think of that requires tunnel vision. That’s keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” (Colossians 3:1)
Eyes on Jesus shifts our eyes onto others.
The more we look at Jesus, the more we see how He put Himself aside for the sake of others. His humility caused Him to not think less of Himself, but rather to think of Himself less. He was too busy thinking, helping and serving others to think about Himself. What a lesson we as His children, made in His likeness, need to develop.
So, do you have misplaced tunnel vision? May we today shift our gaze to Jesus, and watch Him shift our eyes and our hearts towards others.
You are loved,
Jena