And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” - Luke 17:1-4
Have you ever:
“trolled” someone on social media, just to elicit a reaction?
boasted about something you own or something you did, with intent to make others envious?
provoked anger in someone?
worn revealing clothing or sent risque pictures to attract someone’s attention?
encouraged someone to do something wrong or illegal?
pressured someone into doing drugs or drink alcohol?
pressured/manipulated someone into having sex?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, I’d like to talk to you about the kind of sin that most of us don’t even think about.
It’s easy to believe that everyone’s responsible for what they do, and, for the most part, that’s absolutely true. BUT, there are exceptions. One question we don’t often consider is:
What do WE do to contribute to the sin of others?
While trolling someone in a comment on social media may seem “harmless” most of the time, we must remember that there is a person behind that comment, and that person may be going through challenging things we’ll never know about. Just because we don’t see their reaction to what we say doesn’t mean they’re not affected; further, meanness is not something we forget quickly. It sticks with us, affecting our mood. And our mood sets the tone for the rest of the day, possibly affecting other people in our proximity. Provoking someone to anger leads them to sin, and, therefore, makes us just as guilty in God’s eyes.
The same is true for making someone envious or lustful. Even something as simple as pressuring someone to eat more, when they’ve had enough, is tempting them to become gluttonous. Temptation to sin is everywhere we look. It’s difficult enough to stick with our moral compass, without having to navigate our interactions with other people, especially ones whose moral compass is skewed.
It’s up to each of us to take inventory of how we affect the morality of everyone we meet, as well as how those we interact with affect our morality. The goal is to leave everyone in a better state than when you found them. It doesn’t take much effort to do:
Pay a compliment. Look for the things you like about a person and offer praise for it.
If someone is sad, anxious or angry, offer your ear and shoulder. Or, if you’re pressed for time, find a small way to help them forget about what’s making them sad or angry. It could be as simple as a little post-it note left where they will find it, saying, “Everything’s going to be okay” or “I’ll pray for your peace and comfort”.
If you see someone being attacked on social media, step up in defense or send a private message to say hi and encourage the person to block the people attacking them.
Pay it forward. Buy someone’s coffee, groceries or meal.
We restore faith in people when we reflect God’s love, no strings attached, no expectation of getting something in return. Just giving is uplifting to others…and us.
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. - Romans 12:10
When it comes to how others interact with us, it’s up to us to establish necessary boundaries, especially with people who draw us away from God. Anyone who tries to influence or pressure us to do wrong should not be part of our daily lives. It’s our responsibility to limit contact with such people. Our main concern is being right with God over anyone else. We must not damage our relationship with our Heavenly Father by leading others or allowing them to lead us to to sin. We’re commanded to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Loving our neighbors consists of:
doing no harm to anybody, in any aspect.
helping in time of need.
showing compassion and understanding.
inspiring to cultivate and strengthen a relationship with God.
uplift spirits.
respecting opinions, ideas, comfort zones.
rebuking their sin and exhibiting forgiveness.
showing gratitude for kindness.
being generous and charitable to the less fortunate.
intercessory prayer for their trials
reflecting God’s light and love.
leading away from all wrongdoing.
Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. - Romans 13:10
I love it and hope it makes people think before they speak or text - it made me :)