Matthew 18:6-9
Sins Cause Us 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.
In the the Gospel of Matthew we read a powerful metaphor about the importance of resisting temptation and prioritizing spiritual purity and a Teaching on resisting sin...
Jesus a Teacher whose Kingdom is all about LOVE...His Teachings on sin are sometimes strong and are to be interpreted (I believe) with His LOVE and God's LOVE intertwined in each of His Teachings...Some of His Teachings are hard and make us think...This is what He wants us to do...One example might be when He tells us to love our enemies...A difficult teaching but a learning moment for us, and one of love...
When Jesus Teaches about sins we see how seriously He takes each sin very seriously...So when He says 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...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...
We are to reflect on His Teachings...He wants us to learn the root causes of our temptations and vulnerabilities...
He wants us to develop a healthy coping mechanism to be able to better resist sins and temptations...He wants us to be positive and have alternatives that nurture our Spiritual and emotional well-being...
Jesus wants us to seeking support and guidance and lead a healthy sin free life as best we can...We can connecting with trusted mentors or communities who can offer encouragement and accountability...He wants us to be Spiritual and God Seeking and avoid those things that become an obstacle for us in seeking God and His LOVE...