May 16

If your eye causes you to sin

            “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:27-30

I have never once committed a sin and then said to myself, “You know what would have stopped me from doing that?  If I was missing an eye.”  I have never counselled young people to prepare themselves for attending a party by chopping off a hand.  No one thinks that physically maiming yourself will keep you from sinning.  Jesus did not think that plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand would keep His listeners pure.  But He did want to make a point that if there is something in your life that leads you away from God, it would be better for you to throw that thing away and suffer some discomfort now as opposed to keeping it and having it lead you out of relationship with God for eternity.

As with many of you, our family has gone through the gauntlet of dietary restrictions.  Our son was not officially allergic to wheat according to the doctor.  It just made him itchy and hyper and unable to sleep and induced difficulty breathing when he ate it.  So we became a gluten-free household.  We had gluten free macaroni and cheese, gluten free pizza, gluten free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and gluten free cookies.  We tried store-bought.  We tried home-made.  We tried online shipping.  It all tastes awful.  There is nothing quite like taking a bite of a warm, soft chocolate chip cookie…and having the aftertaste of Garbanzo Bean Flour linger in your mouth.

We did not cut out wheat because we enjoyed subpar food.  We did not cut out wheat because we needed an excuse to run our bread machine into the ground.  We did not cut out wheat because we developed a grudge against our tastebuds and wanted to show them who was boss.  We cut out wheat because it made our son healthier and happier and it was better to experience that as a whole family together.

It is the same in the passage.  We do not cut out graphic entertainment because we enjoy lower quality productions.  We do it because it makes our hearts healthier and happier.  We do not give away money because we enjoy being poor.  We do it because hoarding money and possessions shrivels our hearts and kills our joy.  We do not forgive because we are eager for someone else to take advantage of us.  Instead we cut away grudges and release them because holding onto hate and past trauma binds us to the past and blinds us to God’s goodness.

Let go of that which causes you to sin, whether it be internal or external, so that your heart may come alive.

A moment to reflect:

What do you need to let go of?