Meditations from Zion

Mark 9:42
And 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.

It is bad enough that we sin and play havoc with our own spiritual state. But here is a warning that comes directly from Jesus about causing another to sin. This is a type of true suicide, for the repercussions are quite serious.

Perhaps we have lost sight of what this might look like in our own world. Usually, when I read this passage, I think of all those wicked “drug dealers” and the like. And truly, there will be “hell to pay.” But what about my own choices and omissions? It is so easy to cast dispersions on others, to glare at the “specks” in their eyes and miss the plank in our own. [Matthew 7:3]

How often has my own mouth, through gossip and tale-telling, sucked others into the fray? How often have I vanquished someone with my “judgments” of him or her. How often have I walked away from helping others? How often have I withheld information from someone to protect my image or my “turf.” How often has my “controlling self” driven the direction that has caused others to stumble?

I’m not trying to beat myself up here … or anyone else. But I do want to remind myself and others that we are all capable of causing harm. We should not gloss over these admonitions. It’s suicide by degree.