Matthew 18:7-9 New International Version (NIV)
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. Friday, July 31 - Matthew 18:7-9 As Christians we are called to live for others. In John 20:21 Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Here he also warns us that we should “cut off” anyone who might cause us to sin. But remember the context of this warning. This teaching has come from the disciples arguing about who is the greatest. In other words, there is a strong temptation to consider greatness by the standards of the world. But if we do that our “two eyes” will easily be led down the path of sin that leads right “into the hell of fire.” Instead, Jesus wants us to “cut out” the desire for strength and worldly power. Instead, we should humble ourselves like little children and see that God’s kingdom power is perfected in weakness and his salvation comes through losing, just like Jesus lost on the cross. While we should engage in politics by voting, we should not worship politicians, political parties, political ideologies, or anything else that claims to be powerful. Our king wants us to cut that out and “see” with our one good eye the power of serving each other in the ordinary, weak, and humble things of everyday life.