Stumbling blocks

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. (30) And if your right hand cause you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell."                                               Matthew 5:29-30.  NKJV

Jesus was not suggesting self-mutilation here. If He was, then there would be a lot of people walking around with one eye and one hand. None of us are free from this type of thing. No, rather than self-mutilation, he was prescribing a rigid, moral, self-denial over our thoughts, desires and actions. In other words, complete self-control.

There are many stumbling blocks in life, that try to trip us up and we need to be more aware of what we're doing and where we are going. The Greek word for a stumbling block, is an interesting one. It is a word called Skandalon which means the bait stick in a trap. It is the stick or arm on which bait was placed and which operated the trap to catch the lured animal to its own destruction. Therefore, the word came to mean anything which causes a person to fall to destruction.

Just think for a moment about this. We have habits that we wish we didn't have. They have the power to seduce us into evil. This may be evil thoughts or even actions. This type of pleasure, is the pleasure that Jesus was talking about and the pleasure that we need to get rid of. But how?

To say we don't suffer this way, would be a lie. We all have the times when we do, say or think things that we know is wrong. None of us are free from this and never will be until we are safe in our Heavenly home, free from the temptations of this world.
We could go to some distant planet where we would be on our own, but these thoughts and temptations would follow us there. We could go out into the deepest part of a desert where we could live alone for evermore, but the thoughts and temptations would also, follow us there. It is useless to say that we'll never think these things again because as soon as we confess this, the temptations become greater.

Possibly, the only way to beat thoughts and temptations is to fill our thoughts with good things - to think wholesome thought and fill our lives with Christian action - being busy helping people, spending time doing bits and pieces for God, whatever that may entail. As I've mentioned many times, praying, reading God's Word, listening to teaching CD's and worship. Paul has the right attitude in Philippians 4:8:

'Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.'

Alter your thinking and your habits. If you're more likely to suffer temptation when you're on your own, then go out somewhere, or ring someone for a chat, busy yourself. Really, it's training yourself to think and act differently (Romans 12:1-2).

Don't beat yourself up about this. Try new things that will help you to be an overcomer, which, actually, Jesus thinks you are!

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com