“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched– 44 “where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ 45 “And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched– 46 “where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ 47 “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire– 48 “where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ 49 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 “Salt [is] good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

– Mark 9:42-50 (NKJV)

I was just a little boy when I found dirty magazines an older male relative of mine thought he had hidden. He thought no one else would ever know of his secret sin. Yet, when I discovered his magazines, my little impressionable eyes came across images that I never should have seen.

I am sad because my relative didn’t flee like he was supposed to. He treasured these materials and when I found them as a child, I was exposed to his sin. I witnessed the genuine sorrow cross his brow when he learned that I had destroyed his dirty magazines. Sin had so calloused his heart that he wasn’t sorry that I had seen them, he was sorry that his “treasure” had been lost.

One of the conclusions we can draw from this passage is that sin is serious. It has a way of effecting those around us. If we really want to honor Jesus we will treat sin as serious and flee when temptation comes. Sometimes to fight something serious like cancer a doctor will cut off part of your body to make sure the cancer doesn’t spread. It takes drastic measures to fight against something as horrible as cancer. Our fight against sin in our lives should be no less drastic. The analogy that Jesus uses here is to cut off body parts for the sake of preserving the whole. We should flee sin in our lives not only for our own sakes, but for the sake of those around us.

Rather than taking little ones for granted, we should honor the Lord by living the truest and best example we can before them, that includes going to war with sin in our lives. When it comes to things like social media and entertainment apps I have the strictest restrictions in my family set on my phone (and I don’t have the password). I don’t particularly struggle with sin in that area, but I want to live above reproach. As a parent I don’t want to institute parameters that I myself am not willing to submit to.

Keeping the context of this passage in mind from yesterday, I think it’s important that we especially be on the guard for jealousy, divisiveness, hatred, and lack of humility in our lives. This flows from a long rebuke to John to be careful who he condemns. Jesus ends the passage and thus I think brackets this whole conversation with the charge to live at peace with one another. Certainly that calls for real and biblical discernment, but it also calls for humility and the willingness to fight sin in your own life.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We are grateful for all that you have entrusted to us. Let us live lives that bring glory and honor to you. Thank you for the privilege of making an impact in the lives of other people. Please give us grace and humility to serve others well. Give us grace to flee from temptation, take sin seriously and fight it with the shed blood of Jesus. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.