The Seriousness of Sin
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”
– Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, Savior of the World
Wow! There goes the “Jesus is your buddy and just wants to give you a hug” idea right out the window – again! I guess when it comes to sin, Jesus gets pretty serious.
Sin is a terrible thing. It has the power to eternally destroy a soul. Torture may be a better choice of words here than destroy because a soul cannot be destroyed; it is immortal. Your soul is immortal. It had a beginning but it will have no end. It will live on forever, somewhere.
In this passage Jesus is saying that it is better that one should suffer that fate than two. It is better that the one who leads others into sin should die than for them to live and bring others down with them. The “millstone” of sin will drag to the bottom anyone who hangs onto it! This should not cause anyone to despair. Rather, it should cause us to let go of the stone(s) of sin and ask for His healing.
He’s not just talking about children
I think we have been conditioned to think of this passage as speaking of leading children into sin because Jesus uses the term “little ones.” However, it is a serious offense at any age. I am just as capable of leading my family and friends into sin as I am of leading my children. In fact, I am probably more likely to lead the adults in my life to sin than I am to lead my children. I am around adults more than my children and I may say or do things in the presence of adults that I may not say or do in the presence of my children.
A restating for our day
Part of today’s passage is lost to our present culture. This is the part where Jesus says, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into (eternal) life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire…etc.”
I’ll try to restate this for our culture: If your cell phone causes you to sin, by leading you down the rabbit hole of impurity, pornography, social media addiction, depression from comparing your life to the lives of others, a growing need for “likes & shares”, distraction from what is truly important in this life…destroy it, pulverize it with a hammer, cast a millstone around its neck and toss it into the sea. It’s better to enter into Heaven free of this device than to be cast into Gehenna because of it’s use.
If your love for alcohol, orgasms, excessive eating, binge watching Netflix, etc. causes you to sin, cut them out of your life! It is better to enter into Heaven (and be fully engaged in this life) without having wasted precious time with these things than to be cast into Gehenna for eternity where none of them will follow you. Like a trap door they will disappear in an instant, leaving you alone in the unquenchable fire for eternity (eternity is a pretty long time).
Hopefully you get the idea. If there is anything in our lives causing us to sin, it’s better to cut those things out of our life here on earth (temporary) than to be cast into hell (forever) because of them.
Don’t forget forgiveness (for others and ourselves)
Lest we start a millstone factory and begin ringing everyone’s necks with them, Jesus balances this serious warning with the call to forgiveness. If we are scandalized, or “sinned against” we have the duty to lovingly rebuke our brother in the Lord (btw, that loving rebuke may also be directed towards ourselves). If this correction is done in love and is effective, we have saved our souls and the soul of our brother(cf. James 5:19-20). He even takes it a step further and tells us that even if it happens over and over, we must forgive (again, we must forgive ourselves too. Sinners accuse, saints excuse – even ourselves – but they stand up and try again). This isn’t too hard when I think of my “repeated” sins and the times when God has forgiven me again and again.
Going Deeper
Today let us pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for someone who in our life we feel has led us into sin. Maybe it was a friend, neighbor, or relative. Let us pray for their conversion and healing as well as our own, “for the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.“
A Book for Lent
Looking for a quick but powerful read for Lent? Check out Meditations on the Crucifix in my book section.
This powerful little book is a meditation on a common Catholic sacramental in a way that you most likely haven’t considered. From the wounds in Christ’s hands and feet to the wood and the inscription there are deep insights here for everyone.
James M. Hahn, Author 