Mark 9:42-50
Jesus is teaching His disciples about the dangers of
allowances we make in our lives for association with the enemy of all mankind.
Who would do that knowingly?
And this is just the point. Do we know the harm sin causes
– and do we properly consider all the harm it will cause prior to committing
the sin?
The answer, generally speaking, is, “No.” And we are
fairly free with not only the commission of sin but with excuse-making
following all of that. We may even say, “The devil made me do it.”
A better answer would be that I aligned myself WITH the
devil WHEN I did it. (Whatever it was, no matter how great or how small.)
The enemy cannot make us do anything. This is the lesson.
It is not about what we are made to do – it is about what we allow. Since what
we allow comes to our lives in the first place as some form of temptation or
other, Jesus instructs us to cut off the enemy’s incursions right there. Swiftly.
Surely. Sincerely.
You would never do the sinful things you do if you knew
prior to doing them all the harm that would be caused by your doing them. This
is why God has warned us away from the commission of the sin He knew Satan
would tempt us to. Sin is always harmful. It causes death. God loves us so much
He sent His Son to DIE to pay the price for the commission of the sinful things
we do.
Does that make it all okay – since Jesus has paid the
price? The answer is no because of the harm sin causes in your life and in
others. Stop it. Cut it off. Cut it out. Don’t even allow the tempting thoughts
which eventuate in the commission of it.
And listen, think first about the others you may stumble
by what you allow yourself, and who you allow yourself to be allied with. Could
it be your allowances may cause someone looking on to miss eternal life in
heaven?
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