Keeping an eye out

There are so many things in the Bible that can mess with the mind of a new reader. Now please don’t think I’m trying to say something negative about the Bible. It’s just that sometimes it requires help from the Holy Spirit and some due diligence to study it, understand it and apply it to our lives.

Consider Matthew 5:29-30
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Now I’m thinking if Jesus meant for that to be taken literally, I’d have been blind along time before I could even learn to drive.. . .and there probably wouldn’t be much traffic on the roads either. Is that any more ludicrous than for me to say, “I’ll keep an out for you” and then have you expect me to be holding it in my hand the next time you see me?

Does Jesus really want you to gouge your eye out or cut your hand off? Of course not! So what did Jesus mean if it was figurative? Perhaps more scripture might help us understand this.

Colossians 3:5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

So how ’bout if we take these two passages and come up with this for a conclusion: what ever causes us to be tempted to sin, we need to cut ourselves off from it. In Matthew Jesus was talking specifically about adultery. He was saying that if you are going to lust and then commit adultery, it’s better not to look in the first place. Cut your vision off from the temptation.

I believe Paul expands the thought to include all types of sin in his letter to the Colossians. Put to death whatever connections you have with the trigger that causes you to go down the wrong path: whether it's what you see, hear or think. We can apply that to a lot of things in life.

· If I start to gossip, its best to cut the conversation off. I also need to steer clear of gossips.

· If I find myself flipping the channels on cable and there’s something free you that don’t have to pay for, that’s pornographic in nature, I need to turn it off

· If I am trying to quit smoking I need to stay in smoke free areas and not hang around people who smoke and will offer me a somke too.

· If I’m trying to quit using drugs I need to not be where drugs are used and/or sold


If I am trying to fight sugar addictions, I need to stay out of the candy isle.

· If I have issues with alcohol, I need to stay away from it and anyone who would not respect my desire to stay away from it.

· If am tempted to do anything that doesn’t honor God I need to cut it off.

· I’m sure you could help me make a rather lengthy list


What’s the best way cut all the sinful things in life? Get it at the roots.

Earlier this spring when I was prepping the flower gardens, my wife asked me to spread some stuff called Preem. It’s a special herbicide that kills weeds when they are pre-emergent: before they take root and break through the surface.

Paul says earlier in Colossians 3 that his "Preem" recommendation for spiritual weeds is this:
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

He also says in 2 Corinthians 105:b in the NCV says
We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.

In other words, before things get out of hand in our imagination or in our stinkin’ thinkin’, we ought to grab hold of that thought, acknowledge it, turn it over to Jesus and, with His help, replace the thought with something from God’s Word to drive it on out.

So keep an eye out for what you are thinking and for what you are exposing yourself to spiritually each day. It might increase your depth perception so you can see the world as Jesus sees it!

Stay close to Jesus!

REG