This teaching is repeated and developed later on in Matthew’s gospel, and in parallel passages (though in slightly different contexts) in Mark (9.42-8) and Luke (17. 1-2). We will concentrate on Matthew’s version (18.1-11), which is the fullest. In all these passages, Jesus is teaching us that our own bodies – eyes, hands, feet – can lead us into sin and ‘trap’ us. But it is clear that, as with the adultery of the heart, the real problem is the evil desires that lie deep within us, and are so easily inflamed by the things we look at with our eyes, the activities we put our hands to, and the places to which our feet take us. So, Jesus tells us, we need to recognise our weakness and, if we are really serious in our desire to live lives that are pleasing to him, we should take radical action to cut out of our lives those things that regularly lead us into sin, even if, of themselves, they are not necessarily sinful. Alcoholism provides both an example and an illustration of this principle. Just as an alcoholic who has been brought to recognise his condition needs to cut all forms of alcohol out of his life, even though alcohol is not in itself an evil, so a sinner who is addicted to any form of sin needs to take similar radical action.
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
SKANDALON 2 (b) the desires of the heart
This teaching is repeated and developed later on in Matthew’s gospel, and in parallel passages (though in slightly different contexts) in Mark (9.42-8) and Luke (17. 1-2). We will concentrate on Matthew’s version (18.1-11), which is the fullest. In all these passages, Jesus is teaching us that our own bodies – eyes, hands, feet – can lead us into sin and ‘trap’ us. But it is clear that, as with the adultery of the heart, the real problem is the evil desires that lie deep within us, and are so easily inflamed by the things we look at with our eyes, the activities we put our hands to, and the places to which our feet take us. So, Jesus tells us, we need to recognise our weakness and, if we are really serious in our desire to live lives that are pleasing to him, we should take radical action to cut out of our lives those things that regularly lead us into sin, even if, of themselves, they are not necessarily sinful. Alcoholism provides both an example and an illustration of this principle. Just as an alcoholic who has been brought to recognise his condition needs to cut all forms of alcohol out of his life, even though alcohol is not in itself an evil, so a sinner who is addicted to any form of sin needs to take similar radical action.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment