Temptation
Could you imagine what it would be like to lose a hand or a foot?
“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” - Mark 9:42-50
Jesus is talking about eliminating temptation but he is doing it in a very graphic way, causing us to think about making drastic changes in our lives, even to the point of tearing out an eye.
It is all about avoiding stumbling.
If we stumble and fall, God will help us up again, but if we cause another to stumble and fall, that could be a different situation all together.
As Jesus points out, we should have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another. We shouldn't let ourselves be a source of stumbling for anyone. Then the salt in us will have lost its saltiness.
It is all in our hands. We get to decide how we interact with one another.
If we choose to help our neighbor, we gain in greatness, but if we do harm, we lose.
Whatever is causing us to be harmful to others should be cut out of our lives, even if it hurts to do so. That is the message I get from this.
Yes, it can be graphic, but then it is easier to remember, isn't it?
More to come...