Matthew 18:6-9 Causing to Stumble
Causing to Stumble
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Reflection: Matthew reminds us today that we don't live only unto ourselves. Our actions have repercussions on others either directly or indirectly. This is especially true for children and youth, who are impressionable. I still remember when I was younger and I found something out about one of my coaches, and it upset me so greatly because I really looked up to him. Any time we have an influence in someone's life, including our own kids, we need to heed Jesus' warning today. And it is a stern one. Of course, we are not perfect and there degrees of the things we do wrong and the effect they have on those close to us. But the fact remains that we have a responsibility to live lives above reproach, especially if we are teaching others.
Then, to give further weight to his teaching Jesus uses "hyperbole" (a literary device meaning to overstate your point to make the point even more clear) when he says, "If your hand causes you to sin cut it off. If your eye cause you to sin gouge it out." This is where anyone who uses a literalistic translation of the bible will get into trouble. Obviously one needs to interpret this teaching figuratively. The idea is that if something becomes an idol in our lives it is better to deal with it than try serve two masters. We all have areas of our lives that cause us to stumble. And our enemy the devil tries to exploit our weaknesses. But the passage tells us to go to any length to make sure things don't get in the way of our relationship with God.
In the A.A. program one of the mottoes is, "willing to go to any length". Meaning if an alcoholic or addict is not willing to go to any length to root out their addiction, including not going to places that might make them stumble, they will not stay sober. Many times addicts try to "control and enjoy" their addiction but it almost always leads to them into full blown stumbling. They rationalize, "just a little bit won't hurt?"then 15 drinks later they need help. I wonder if sometimes Christian do the same thing with sin. Well a little bit won't hurt. The problem is this causes a double message for a younger believer as they watch our lives.
Please here I am not advocating for legalism where the Christian life is all about do's and don'ts. Yet teachings like today remind us to lead lives worthy of our calling. To do that we need grace when we do stumble. And grace to overcome our weaknesses.
Jesus thank you for calling us to a life of following you by your grace. Help us to root out things in our lives that cause us to stumble so we will not become a stumbling block to others, especially the "little ones" in our care. Amen.
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Reflection: Matthew reminds us today that we don't live only unto ourselves. Our actions have repercussions on others either directly or indirectly. This is especially true for children and youth, who are impressionable. I still remember when I was younger and I found something out about one of my coaches, and it upset me so greatly because I really looked up to him. Any time we have an influence in someone's life, including our own kids, we need to heed Jesus' warning today. And it is a stern one. Of course, we are not perfect and there degrees of the things we do wrong and the effect they have on those close to us. But the fact remains that we have a responsibility to live lives above reproach, especially if we are teaching others.
Then, to give further weight to his teaching Jesus uses "hyperbole" (a literary device meaning to overstate your point to make the point even more clear) when he says, "If your hand causes you to sin cut it off. If your eye cause you to sin gouge it out." This is where anyone who uses a literalistic translation of the bible will get into trouble. Obviously one needs to interpret this teaching figuratively. The idea is that if something becomes an idol in our lives it is better to deal with it than try serve two masters. We all have areas of our lives that cause us to stumble. And our enemy the devil tries to exploit our weaknesses. But the passage tells us to go to any length to make sure things don't get in the way of our relationship with God.
In the A.A. program one of the mottoes is, "willing to go to any length". Meaning if an alcoholic or addict is not willing to go to any length to root out their addiction, including not going to places that might make them stumble, they will not stay sober. Many times addicts try to "control and enjoy" their addiction but it almost always leads to them into full blown stumbling. They rationalize, "just a little bit won't hurt?"then 15 drinks later they need help. I wonder if sometimes Christian do the same thing with sin. Well a little bit won't hurt. The problem is this causes a double message for a younger believer as they watch our lives.
Please here I am not advocating for legalism where the Christian life is all about do's and don'ts. Yet teachings like today remind us to lead lives worthy of our calling. To do that we need grace when we do stumble. And grace to overcome our weaknesses.
Jesus thank you for calling us to a life of following you by your grace. Help us to root out things in our lives that cause us to stumble so we will not become a stumbling block to others, especially the "little ones" in our care. Amen.
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