I am so right-hand dominant that while using a cane with my right hand, I would move the cane to my left hand to pick up something with my right hand. Then my physical therapist had me change and use the cane in my left hand so as to give more support to my weaker right leg. This has made me more conscious about straightening up when I walk. My doctor said that the real purpose of using a cane is balance. When I’m in the house I don’t use the cane much, but I’ve noticed that I check my balance by touching a counter top and even a door frame as I turn a corner. Using the cane in my left hand has freed up my right hand to hold or reach for something. But I’ve had to get used to the switch from right to left when using the cane.
Being dominant right is reflected in my choices also. I want to do what’s right. It’s a good trait for I seldom have to check my balance. I know what’s right and what’s wrong. God has not left us without instruction for daily living. I know “what it is the Lord requires . . . to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8, NIV). Obedience is always the best choice.
However, I have to be careful that being right is not the purpose of my connections with others. Being right is such a dominate trait that I’ve often said I would make a good Pharisee. As I depend too heavily on rules for daily living, it makes me judgmental about others’ decisions. That part about loving mercy is directed toward others. I have the Holy Spirit, a gift to help me concentrate on what is truly dominant in the Lord’s eyes. Daily I surrender to His dominant control. I am His holy temple, His vessel of grace toward others and myself. That’s being dominant right in the way that pleases God.
During an eye exam today I found out that I’m right-eye dominant. Using a piece of cardboard with an open circle in it, the clinical staff person had me look through the circle at the doorstop across the room, first with my left then with my right eye. The doorstop “disappeared” when looking with my left eye but appeared with my right eye. You can do this experiment at home. Select an object across the room; make an open triangle with your hands, overlapping your thumbs. Hold this at arms’ length and close one eye and then the other. Through which eye did you see the object? That is your dominant eye.
Applying this again to my spiritual life, two scriptures come to mind. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus gave this advice about lust: “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away” (5:29). And a positive note: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light” (6:22). This reminds me of the children’s song: “Oh be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love.” So my eyes, even my dominate right eye, have to be disciplined to follow God’s will.
Ann Coker 