The Prescription for Christian Myopia (Part 1 of 2)

I’m a tad bit nearsighted, otherwise known as myopic. I can see close up, but recognizing faces from a distance or reading freeway signs early enough to take an unfamiliar exit can be difficult if not dangerous. I guess I could slow down, but that’s out of the question.

Many Christ followers have a similar malady in how they process their lives or the world around them. Either they can’t see past their own personal issues or are unable to see beyond the challenges and problems of our culture and country.

I grew up with twins as friends. Born twelve minutes apart, but who couldn’t have been any different––in physique, intellect, interests, etc. Similarly, twin myopic mistakes are diametric opposites but equally limiting.

The one is apathetic myopia and the other, apoplectic. One hides its head in the sand, and the other kicks sand in everyone else’s eyes! The one pretends the problems don’t exist and the other contends that if they don’t do something about the problems of the world, life as we know it will cease to exist.

In this post and the next we’ll unpack the twin optical maladies and their cure.

Apathetic Myopia 

There was a time when I was afflicted with this form of nearsightedness. I pretty much chose not to look beyond my own issues, my need to be more spiritual, and everything that held me back from it. I took an insular approach to my ever-present clamor for self-correction, not to mention the needs of the people I was shepherding. It left me with neither time nor energy to invest in solutions to anything outside of myself and to our world’s social, political, or justice matters.

Wars, famines, poverty, politics, or racial, economic, or climate justice simply weren’t on my radar. I had myself, my family, my church to look after, and had no time or interest in how people outside my circle managed. I see so many of my spiritual tribe afflicted similarly with their nearsighted focus on the newest spiritual fad, the most recent Christian self-help books, the greatest preachers and most “successful” churches. It leaves them in blissful ignorance with nothing left for caring about such “secular” things like anything political, social, or global.

Apoplectic Myopia

In the last decade or so, instead of ignoring the sociopolitical issues outside my self-imposed silo, with the entrance of populist politicians and media personalities, I allowed fear and anger (mostly anger) to obstruct my vision. My nearsightedness morphed from apathetic to apoplectic. (Apoplectic = to be overcome with rage. If someone is having an “apoplectic attack,” they are having a stroke!)

I admit that Donald Trump was and is the loudest voice, the most attention-grabbing factor in my myopic apoplexy. But he’s just the most recent person of note to open the floodgates of narcissistic demagoguery. Yet he and his sycophants represent some of the worst American impulses, and unfortunately, Christian Americans in particular.

As I watch it unfold, my angst has increased manyfold. I’ve joked that when I miss my daily exercise regimen, I listen to some far-right media churl, which raises my heart rate and gives me the cardio workout I would’ve received on the treadmill! It’s taken me years to realize this form of sweat-inducement actually does more harm than good to my heart––both the one inside my chest and the one at the core of my humanity. Not to say that I’ve entirely given up on this exercise routine. It’s quick and requires no actual effort. It feels better in the moment, but takes pieces out of my soul, which I can ill afford to lose.

The result of this sort of apoplectic myopia prevents us seeing beyond it. Rest assured, there is something beyond. It’s in this beyond vision where we find our solution to both myopic maladies.

Before moving on to the prescription, I want to point out that it’s not found in some elusive middle ground between both versions of it. Our goals is not to possess a small bite of apathy and a taste of apoplexy. We want our vision to be 20-20. We need to “see everything clearly” (Mark 8:25), both things near and things far.

Now for the cure for such spiritual shortsightedness.

The Apocalyptic Prescription for All Forms of Myopia

Don’t be confused by the term, “apocalyptic.” The way we typically use the word and the way it’s used in Scripture, are altogether different. From popular books and movies, we think of the apocalypse as the dystopian world that follows a nuclear holocaust or an alien invasion, the latter being my favorite of the two. But the New Testament term actually means “revealing” or “uncovering.” The title of the last book of the Bible, “Revelation,” is a translation of the Greek word Apokalupsis, that is the revealing of Jesus and his ultimate kingdom.

Apokalupsis is one of the favorite terms used by the authors of New Testament to describe the return of Jesus, his Second Coming.

“…praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:7)  “Set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.” (1 Peter 1:13)  “…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7)

At his revealing, Jesus will restore everything to its original version––an even better version (Acts 3:21)! The apocalypse is not when it all goes to hell, but when creation and everything in it all coalesces with heaven. It’s when every knee bows and every tongue confesses he’s Lord! When everything will be as it should be.

Leaning into this vision is how we cure ourselves of both apathetic and apoplectic forms of myopia. With this glorious end in sight, it has no chance of survival. Living in light of God’s promised future is how we overcome our spiritual shortsightedness.

If your myopia is of the apathetic variety, it’s crucial that you lean into the future kingdom, which informs us how to live in such a way as to build something for that kingdom. Your every Christlike act today will be an essential part of that kingdom tomorrow. Every act of kindness, of compassion, of justice, of truth-telling, of neighbor love produces something that Jesus will perfect and bring to completion when he comes.

Some people abdicate their Christian responsibility by detaching themselves from the world. “It’s all gonna burn someday anyway,” they say, “so let’s just maintain our salvation until he comes to take us away!” We’re not polishing the brass on the Titanic when we obey the Spirit’s leading. The Bible teaches us that our “good works” are anything but a waste of our time and energy (Ephesians 2:10). These deeds are the result, not the basis of our salvation. They bring God’s glory into the world says Jesus (Matthew 5:16).

The promise of Christ’s return does not demand quietism or political escapism. In fact, the opposite is true. When Martin Luther was asked what he would do if the world were to end tomorrow, he answered, “I would plant an apple tree today.”

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In Part 2 we’ll take a deeper dive into this concept of building for the future kingdom and track with how it cures spiritual apoplexy. Stay tuned.