Matthew 5:29 – 30 “If your right eye serves as a trap to ensnare you or is an occasion for you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand serves as a trap to ensnare you or is an occasion for you to stumble and sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better that you lose one of your members than that your entire body should be cast into hell.”
It was going to be a wonderful hike! Aron Ralston, an experienced climber and outdoorsman, was doing a solo descent of Bluejohn Canyon in southeastern Utah, when he dislodged a boulder, pinning his right wrist to the side of the canyon wall. After five days he was able to amputate his arm with a dull pocketknife, make his way through the rest of the canyon, rappel down a 65-foot (20 m) drop, and hike 7 miles (11 km) to safety. Amazingly enough, this did not end Ralston’s climbing career at all; he later became the first climber to ascend all of the Colorado peaks over 14,000 feet solo in the winter time.
But what if you were caught mentally, emotionally, or spiritually? You were flicking through YouTube videos when it happened. Suddenly you found yourself watching on – line porn. You should have turned it off, but you didn’t. Or perhaps you were feeling lucky and found an on – line betting site. And what the heck? You could risk a couple of dollars without hurting yourself…..that first time. There are all kinds of addictive/obsessive behaviors that can catch us unawares. Some obsessions even get applauded by society – workaholism, for example. And when you get commended, it feels good. Of course, your family rarely sees you, but they should appreciate how hard you are working to give them a good life, right?
What is Jesus trying to teach us about sin? None of us wishes to lose an eye, but what is the significance of the right hand? In many societies with limited water, the right hand is the social hand while the left hand is reserved for wiping one’s bottom after defecating. When we first came to Ghana in the late 1980’s, we quickly learned that we must hand a store clerk money with our right hands. (When we returned to the U.S. in 1990, my husband freaked out a store clerk in Southaven, Mississippi by apologizing for handing her money with his left hand. Our explanations only left the lady confused and wondering if she needed to call Security.) When Jesus is advising his listeners that they might have to cut off their right hands, he is actually implying that even if they have to become social outcasts for want of a right hand, that is preferable to falling into sin.
What Jesus is telling us is that when confronted with an opportunity to sin, we should flee as possible! Deliberation or equivocation is futile, because we can rationalize any kind of bad behavior to ourselves. In the short video clip, the speaker describes the challenge of having a photographic memory. If this man sees something he shouldn’t, it will imprint itself on his mind and he will struggle with it for the next year. But even those of us whose memories aren’t this good may find that we remember vivid images readily, even when we are not making an effort to remember them. There is only one way out of this problem: flee!
But what if the damage has already been done and we feel caught? We can pray and ask Jesus and He will cleanse our hearts. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus will help us, but we must continue to avoid those things that cause us to sin – the videos, the gambling, the alcohol, the toxic work habits. And many times, we must ask Jesus for His help several times a day because temptations will hit continually.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank you that you died for our sins and defeated death on the cross. Thank you that because you defeated sin and death, you can help us defeat the sin in our lives. Come into our hearts and clean them. Please help us to turn away from sin and to worship you instead. In your mighty and precious Name. Amen.
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