What Are You Thinking! :: Deeper Devotion

by Glenn Ansley

Mark 9:42
And whoever causes one of these little one who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

I cannot imagine how horrible it would be to die by drowning. When I was younger, I actually had a couple of nightmares in this manner. I was caught under water, the surface only centimeters away from my face. The air I needed to breathe was within sight, but beyond reach. Our Savior considered this scenario better than causing a little one to stumble. These are heavy words to anyone willing to slow down long enough to hear them.

We live in a selfish generation, a world that not only tolerates looking out for number one, but advocates it as well. We are taught, “Do what is best for you” but seldom encouraged to think about the affect we will have on another. Even our consequences are geared towards self rather than others. “Don’t kill another person because you will go to jail.” Totally foreign to our mindset is, “Don’t kill another person because in doing so, you have taken their life, and caused unmeasured pain for their family.” How much greater is this mistake when Christians embrace it as their own!

You are continually being watched. There are younger siblings, friends, and complete strangers that witness everything you do, say, and wear. As a young woman, you have little reserve in the way that you dress. “It doesn’t hurt me.” I ask you to consider the Christian boys you lead into lust. I challenge you to take notice of the younger girls who justify their actions in light of yours. I beg you to not forget the words of Christ; “it would be better if, with a heavy millstone hung around your neck, you had been cast into the sea.”

Young men, you too are just as guilty. The hatred in your talk, the judgment in your voice, it leads younger guys to a faulty view of Christ. The immoral acts played out, not even in bed, but only in speech, are more than enough to lead fellow brothers into a lifetime of sin. “It would be better if, with a heavy millstone hung around your neck, you had been cast into the sea.”

Is the Lord commissioning suicide with this verse; I hardly believe so. Rather, He is forewarning you of a day when you will stand before Him and answer for every sin you committed… for every little one you have caused to stumble (1 Cor 3:10-15). These are heavy words to anyone willing to slow down long enough to hear them… will you?

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