Watch Yourselves

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

WATCH YOURSELVES

Luke 17:1-3

17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 So watch yourselves.

NIV

This is a little strange as Matthew records this in a larger context where Jesus said that unless we change and become like one the little child, he had to stand in the middle of them that we could not enter the kingdom of God, then if someone were to cause of these little ones to sin, woe to that person. Luke leaves that part out but the principle is the same. However, here Luke records the fact that temptations are part of the air we breathe, it is life, and it is part of living in a corrupt world. It is also a fact that we live in a corruptible body, able to sin, and even having the propensity to sin. This is bad enough as it is, that we are going to fail or fall, for we cannot attain perfection until the resurrection when we are renewed into our glorified form. However, through the grace of God in Jesus Christ crucified we have the forgiveness of sin. Nevertheless, Jesus is warning that the problem is when we cause an innocent person to sin, which is to mean another believer, for in Christ, God sees all of us believers as innocent, blameless, and holy. When a person changes and becomes like a child, having pure faith, believing everything the Father says, being humble like a child, and someone comes alone and does something that would disturb that childlike faith causing that person to become angry, upset, bitter, unforgiving, feeling hurt and then hurtful seeking some sort of retaliation or gossiping about the offender, or some other result from being sinned against, the offender is not in a good place with God. We need to watch ourselves in the warning so that we are not the reason someone sins. We understand that even in marriage we might use that phrase, pushing buttons, when we get upset over our spouses' actions or words. That is not the right way to live in marriage, nor in the community of faith. We should not be trying to push that button, but on the other hand, perhaps we should be looking at not having buttons in the first place, always being in the state of forgiving for we are forgiven by God. If we see forgiveness in light of what Jesus said about if we forgive we are forgiven, but if we do not forgive those who offend us, or push our buttons, then God will not forgive us. So, watch yourselves.