Remove Wetin Dey Lead Person Enter Sin

September 29, 2024
Sunday Nọmba 26 for Ordinary Time (Yia B)
Readings for Today

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“If your hand dey cause you to sin, cut am comot. E better make you enter life with one hand than make you get two hands go enter Gehenna, inside di fire wey no fit quench. And if your leg dey cause you to sin, cut am comot. E better make you enter life with one leg than make dem throw you with two legs enter Gehenna. And if your eye dey cause you to sin, pluck am comot…” Mark 9:43–47

Sometimes, we need to wake up understand how terrible sin be. Na sin, and only sin, fit send you go hell. Hell dey real, and e really possible for person to go there stay forever. So, we must do everything wey e go take to avoid that frightening possibility. At first, people fit no see this teaching from Jesus as one of His teachings wey dey inspire person pass, but we suppose see am like that. No be because of di strong picture wey di teaching paint e dey inspire person. But e dey inspire us well because e fit move us to take action.

You get di strong desire to do everything wey you fit do to avoid sin? You fit even reach di point of cutting your hand or leg comot, and plucking your eye comot, so that you go avoid sin? First of all, we no suppose take this as command wey Jesus give us to really cut parts of our body comot. But na Him choose to use words wey paint this kind strong picture. So, we no suppose run from thinking deeply about these pictures as we dey pray, so that we go see more clearly those things wey dey lead us enter sin. When we see dem, we must take di serious step to remove dem completely from our lives.

Plenty of di Church Fathers talk say di hand, leg and eye for this teaching stand for our friends. Just as hand, leg and eye good by demself, na so friends too good. God make us for friendship with Him and with other people. But no be every friendship dey help us draw closer to God. So, when friend for this world become source of sin, we must end that friendship.

Friendship different from charity, wey be love for God and our neighbour. We owe everybody this love, even those wey dey commit sin pass. But to show other people this love different from to be their friend. To be friend mean say both people dey give and receive from each other. And even though we must always give ourselves to help others, we no suppose always receive from dem when wetin dem dey offer na invitation to sin. Na so we dey “cut am comot” and “pluck am comot.” When another person try to relate with us for way wey go lead us enter sin, we must take that temptation very seriously and reject am with plenty strength.

Di hand, leg and eye for this teaching also stand for every situation for life wey dey tempt us to sin. For example, think about di things wey person own. If to buy car, house or electronic device wey cost plenty money dey tempt you to put more value for material things, then you must avoid buying am. Fine things dey attract people. But to get fine things dey help your soul become holy? Person fit argue say e fit get fine things and still no let im heart cling to dem. But to live like this hard. Di more di things wey we own dey luxurious, di more temptation go dey for us to depend on dem for our happiness. So, to choose simple life almost always better for your soul than to choose life of luxury. This teaching still concern any other thing wey fit become source of temptation.

Today, think deeply about those things or people for your life wey don become wetin dey lead you enter sin. No deceive yourself to believe say you fit handle di temptation. If anything for your life dey continue to bring temptation, you need to remove am. Think deeply about this teaching from Jesus wey paint such strong picture, and try to put am into practice for your life. Identify those things wey dey lead you enter sin and remove dem with strong determination.

My Lord wey dey ask for total change, You dey call all Your children to live holy life and reach perfection. Abeg, help me take Your teachings seriously so that I go remove everything wey dey lead me enter sin from my life. Make I get eyes to see these temptations and courage to reject dem with all my strength. Jesus, na You I trust.

E go dey available Sept 29, di Feast of di Archangels!