He said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.” Luke 17:1 NABRE
Jesus is addressing what might be known in biblical language as scandal. A scandal is to trip up, something causing sin rather than outrage. For example during a protest someone may loot a TV and we think it is ok and do the same. This is scandalous, right and wrong is changed and we are influenced another’s behavior. Jesus says sin will occur but woe to the person through whom it occurs. It is interesting how candid Jesus is saying sin occurs, He is aware sin exists. But leading others to sin, even if inadvertently, is much more offensive to God than sin itself. Jesus is very concerned about a little one caused to sin, it is most outrageous. Think of a little one as those weak in faith, or new to faith. When we know something is wrong and we justify it, we are at a high risk of disappointing God, but if we influence someone else making them believe what is wrong is right, we can be assured God is highly offended.
We see this today in many places, truth seems to have become definable, facts aren’t facts. We are led to believe truth is what I say it is and facts are what I hear and know, both very fluid in today’s public discourse. If someone we admire does something wrong we simply deny they had anything to do with it, and blame those reporting as misreporting the facts or point to a biased news establishment. Truth and facts are not definable, and we should be careful about what we see and hear. Without proper grounding we can easily be influenced into looting a TV or leading someone else to the same sin.
Is your moral compass grounded? Do your biases influence how you define wrong doing?
Truth and facts are not definable, and we should be careful about what we see and hear. Without proper grounding we can easily be influenced into looting a TV or leading someone else to the same sin. Click To Tweet#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity #dailybibleverse @youversion #BeAnEncourager #scandal #influence #Luke #everybodyalways #god #jesuschrist #jesussaves #godisgood #dailydevotion #biblestudy #scripture #bibleverse #verseoftheday #cross #last #gospels #loveeachother #godisgreat #thisVineyard #youversion #everythingalways