In English, we have the phrase, “Keep your eye on the ball.” As native speakers, we know what it means. The “ball” is what is important. The phrase warns us not to be distracted from the main goal. For example, if a politician is running for office, his staff will remind him to keep his eye on the ball. The goal is to be elected. A lot of things can happen in a campaign that are not important. Don’t dwell on the things that will not impact winning the election.

In Matt 6:22-23, the Lord uses a phrase that basically means the same thing. He says that the eye is the “lamp of the body.” I think we get the main gist of His teaching here if we say that Christ is talking about what our eyes focus on. What do our eyes shine a light on? He says our eyes can be “good” or they can be “bad.” We can focus on what is good or bad.

To use our English phrase, the Lord is saying we should keep our eye on the ball, which He calls the “good” thing. But what is the good?

I think the majority of people in the Evangelical world would say it is “going to heaven.” That should be our focus. We should not let anything distract us from that goal.

That is certainly not correct. The believer already knows he will be in the kingdom of God. There is no need to make that our goal.

More Biblically, some realize that the Lord is telling the disciples to live for the coming world. They should not worry about the things of this world, because it is passing away. This is obviously the context. In the previous verses, Jesus tells us not to lay up treasures upon earth (vv 19-21). In the verses that follow, He tells us not to love this present world (v 24). In other words, Jesus says our focus should be on the world to come. That is the ball we should keep our eye on.

While all of this is true, I think it is too general in nature. The Lord is telling us more than that this world is temporary and that we will live in an eternal kingdom. I believe the Lord is very specific about what the good “ball” is. It is rewards.

These verses are found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:1–7:27). One of the main purposes, if not the main purpose, of the sermon is to teach the believer about rewards in the coming kingdom. The sermon begins with that idea (5:3-12). It ends with the same theme (7:24-27). Much of the sermon describes the kind of life that will be greatly rewarded when the Lord comes.

The Lord wants to, and will, reward the believers who are faithfully obedient to Him. They will be great in His kingdom. That is the ball the Lord wants us to keep our eye on.

The sad truth is that most people, including believers, reject this. They say we should be faithful to the Lord only because we love Him. That should be all the motivation we need. Living for rewards is said to be selfish. There won’t be rewards in the kingdom.

Most would add that even if there will be rewards in the kingdom, it is not an important topic. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, however, the Lord emphasizes these rewards. He tells the disciples to lay up treasures in heaven (v 20). They are not to lay up treasure on earth (v 19). They should focus on the amount of treasure they are storing up for the world to come. That is what their eye should be focused on (vv 22-23).

If you are a person who does not believe in rewards in the coming kingdom, you have taken your eye off the ball. We should all want to hear the Lord say that we were His faithful servants. All believers will live with Christ. We should also want to rule with Him.

He said—if I could paraphrase: “Lay up for yourselves treasure in My kingdom! Seek rewards that come from Me.” He taught that in many places. In Matt 6:22-23, He came close to saying it how the believer can, “Keep your eye on the ball!”