Be Ruthless! We are suppose to be absolutely ruthless in getting rid of whatever causes us to sin. If it's our right eye that can't resist porn, or seeks out the "adult" (meaning high sex content) movies and web sites - then gouge it out! If your favoured hand can't resist doing sinful things, chop it off and throw it far away!

The point Jesus is making, is that we have some self-discipline responsibilities in this matter of staying far from sin. No matter what the personal cost, He says to get rid of the cause of temptation. Completely!

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of yur body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

My Dad sometimes told the story, with gruesome relish, of a young woman in the area where he grew up, who put her foot on a chopping stump and axed off her little toe. When people had exclaimed that this was too ruthless, her mother quoted the above passage. (Apparently the girl couldn't get her foot into a shoe, and she figured her little toe was expendable to make that possible).

There are individuals strong enough to dismember themselves for a cause they believe strongly in. But I think that focus on the gruesome self-mutilation is not what Jesus meant.

Don't passively whine that you can't help yourself; Find the true cause and do what you must to get rid of it. Be ruthless!

I've been working on such a problem myself. I'm taking more drastic measures to see that I WILL get up on time, and be awake and alert when I start my devotional time, and I will control my imagination and harness it for prayer. It means sacrificing some things the night before, and implanting a clear concept of what an important appointment I have with the Lord each morning.

It also meant making an appointment for a retreat with the Lord just to clarify my reasons and motives. Once I'd made a clear resolve, the rest of me gave in and agreed to cooperate.

Ruth Marlene Friesen The Responsible One