When Would it be Better Off to Drown?
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 18:6
I am guessing that no one reading this would have an intention to cause one of your children who believe in Jesus to sin. That kind of seems absurd. Why would I ever do that?
This passage hit me hard. One of my children was telling me that he was not going to do an activity because he felt like he might be tempted to sin if he did it. It was not a bad activity. It was a great activity. However, for him, it put him in a vulnerable place. One where he wasn’t so sure it would be good for him to be as a Christ follower.
Now I know I have written on letting your little lights shine, but sometimes your little lights know where they are weak in their spiritual maturity and just might need to shine from a distance. Hence the need to be in prayer for your child so you will discern! You know how it’s easier if you are standing at the bottom of a hill to reach up and pull someone down than it is to stand at the top of a hill and reach down and pull someone up? He was telling me in this situation that he would possibly be more influenced in a negative way than he would be an influencer in a positive way…..by staying to try and pull others up, he could very easily get pulled down the mountain.
When he informed me of this decision, I wanted to talk him out of leaving and encouraged him to stay and be light!! Don’t hide, don’t shrink back, STAY!
These are the times when it is life giving that I am in God’s Word. It just meets me where I am. This day, I came to this passage from Matthew 18:6.
My encouragement for him to stay now changed to an encouragement for him to leave. Flee! Go! Run! I didn’t want to be a mom that was trying to cause my little one to sin. He knew his limits. If I kept on making him question his decision to flee, it would be better for me to drown in the depths of the sea!
Are you ever tempted to cause a younger one to sin? Oh my, it could look so different for all of us. Our words, our attitudes, our actions, our social choices, our over exerting pressure to perform? You name it.
Let’s Pray:
Thank You Father for Your Word that guides me. It is the all-time authoritative guidebook for training and loving my children. Without it, I would be lost in my sin and leading them to be lost in their sin.
I never want to cause a little child to sin. You Word clearly tells me how grievous this is. It would be better off for me to drown in the depths of the sea than to do this.
Show me where I am doing this and then lead me to repentance and trust in You as you show me these areas.
Amen
~Terrie Chevaillier
No comments:
Post a Comment