"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. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away..."Matthew 5:29-30a
Quite a shocking thing to say. So shocking that we really dare not consider it. I mean, who in their right mind would actually gouge his or her eye out? Its disgusting. Its painful. Its just plain nuts.
Only the insane or severely inbalanced would ever perform such an action. At least that's my reaction to Jesus' words.
And so we spiritualize this statement quickly, rarely pausing to reflect for a second before we say, "Now Jesus didn't actually mean this...."
But what if he did? What if every time sinned we had enough courage to remove part of our body in an attempt to change our ways?
We'd have a lot more blind and maimed people, I can tell you that. Including me.
Now, I know that sin derives ultimately from the heart and not from the eys or hands...but Jesus still says what he says. He wants his followers to be so devoted that they would follow Him to the uttermost in an attempt to seek righteousness.
So I'm not going to brush this one aside so easily. If cutting out my eye would really stop me from sinning, shouldn't I do it? Shouldn't I at least be willing to consider it?
If our devotion to Christ is such that we won't consider the extreme, I wonder how devoted we really are. And I wonder how hypocritical I am.
If we really want to avoid lust, avoid greed, avoid hatred, avoid hurting ourselves and God and others--shouldn't we do everything in our power to do so regardless of the consequences?
I guess I need to consider these words and hear them for what they are.
So, I think, do we all.
2 comments:
I used to think there was an intentional connection between the hand and the eye..."what the eye sees the hand wishes to possess", sort of thing. So much of the sin in our culture has to do with covetousness. If I'm not mistaken the charge to gouge one's eyes out is hot on the trail of Jesus' warning against adultery (at least according to St. Matt.). His concern there is about looking and wishing to possess.
You're right to say that the source of our sin isn't contained in the eye or in the hand; at the same time, if we couldn't see we'd have a lot easier a time dealing with the impulse to want what the other guy's got (although admittedly I'd probably covet your sight).
That makes sense, Good.
So I guess my question is, if it is really going to keep us from sin, why aren't we doing it? (I admittedly ask this a little facetiously, but still...)
In other words, what lengths ought we to go to seek holiness?
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