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Who is Watching You? (Mark 9:42-50)
There are people in this world who take pleasure in trapping others in corrupt and misleading ways. Who tempt the teetotal to take to drink, the faithful husband or wife to stray, the honest man or woman to speculate in questionable business ventures. There are men and women who tempt others with promises of riches, excitement, self-gratification, and who pander to people's pride if they would only follow one path or another "causing them to sin". These are probably the instances we think of when we look at verse 42 in this passage, which warns us:
If anyone causes one of these little ones who
believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the
sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.
As a churchgoer of many years I am struck by the "causes to sin" that can be found within the Christian community. Of course there is temptation to those things mentioned above, self-gratification, sexual temptations, opportunities to pander to worldly pride, questionable business practices. The body of Christ is not immune to these things and we must be ever watchful. But I think of those things in which we tempt others without meaning to. Where we influence others for ill simply because we don't think others are watching us.
Believing Imperfectly
As Christians we believe imperfectly (see through a glass darkly) and so should expect to experience frustration and disappointment. We are "in process", "being sanctified", and this means we have not yet arrived. In this process we can be very impatient with one another and show some of the worst characteristics of regenerate but as yet imperfect humanity.
In this state we are often tempted to behave in ways that are hardly
Christian, towards each other and towards outsiders. We can, like the
disciples, think in terms of our position in God's scheme of things
instead of in terms of how we might serve God better. We might get upset
because too many changes are happening too fast - or not enough changes
are happening, and too slowly. I have seen small groups of disaffected
Christians whisper at the back of the church business meeting because
"this wasn't how it was done in pastor ----'s days." Irresponsible conversations
over the family meal to which immature ears are unsuspectingly tuned
in. All can "cause one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin."
Then there are the personal problems we all have that can so easily colour other areas of our lives. The barely veiled animosity we might feel for someone we imagine has slighted, or in some way disappointed us. The "disagreement" with another that finds us barely talking, each party insisting that, on their part, reason and justice reign supreme - but Christian love seems sadly missing. The personal ambitions of one kind or another - to preach, to be appreciated and recognised, to be consulted, to have one's judgements and opinions taken seriously, to be invited onto the leadership. All these things develop attitudes that are far from Christlike, attitudes that do not go unnoticed and can tempt others to follow bad examples, to think it is alright to gossip about the pastor, to put personal ambition before kingdom living, to seek attention and approval rather than the service and good of others.
Who do you Trust?
One of the root causes of so many of these problems is the question of who we trust. As Christians our trust is not in what we know but in whom we know. Our faith is not in what we can do but in what he has done. The lamp of our way is not in our own "self-realisation" but in our Christ-realisation. We endure to the end not consistently but determinedly. We are not good at it all the time but we do get better with the passing of time if we realise that it does not depend on the strength of our faith but on our faith in his strength. Once we realise these things we can begin to face the demons that drive us to unchristlike behaviour because of our unchristian ambitions that are so often witnessed by others, whether "little ones" in years or in their Christian walk. Then we can begin to deal with the demands of the rest of this passage.
Cut it off!
If "it would be better for him to be thrown
into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck" than
cause others to sin it makes sense to deal with that in us that sets
such bad examples to others. Using hyperbole (a figure of speech that
exaggerates to make its point) the passage urges us to cut off and be
rid of all that causes us to sin and cause others to sin.
It is better for you to enter life maimed than
with two hands to go into hell.
This is a stark contrast. Sometimes two otherwise useful hands can lead us to be proud of our own abilities and depend on ourselves. Get rid of that which you cherish but that causes you to sin and be a stumbling block to others and enter into life - or go to hell!
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of
God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell!
C S Lewis wrote:
There are two kinds of people: Those who say to
God, "Thy will be done", and those to whom God says, "alright, have
it your own way".
We can see things God's way with one eye or insist on seeing everything our way with two. The consequences, again, are in stark contrast. But if we are so careless with our own souls as to put our secret ambitions and petty grievances before the kingdom how can we be trusted with the souls of others? If we cannot bring ourselves to cut off all that offends and bars us from life and the kingdom why should others consult such unwise Christians? If we are so selfish as to insist on our "position" how blind will we be to those who see us and wonder whether sinning makes any difference at all to our Christian lives? How easily we can cause others to falter and thereby earn the judgement due those who cause to sin.
May the passage of time, the discipline of self-examination, the love of others and the Spirit of the Living God lead us to be rid of much more than we imagined possible of that which hinders, so that we may be useful in ways we hadn't dreamed of or anticipated, and know eternal rewards too wonderful to speak of but promised to all the saints in glory.