By Eric King
While preaching the Sermon on the Mount, The Lord made a stunning statement in Matthew 5:29-30.
–“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you for it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”

Jesus was addressing sinful behaviors that all begin in the heart and work their way out through the body. He teaches us to regulate our hearts but also to take extreme measures to AVOID sinning.
Plucking out the eye? Cutting off the hand?
Put the knives down please and back away from the eye-pluckers. Plucking out eyes and cutting off hands will not solve a lusting or stealing problem. So what is the meaning? What is the application of this extreme language?
What are we willing to do to prevent sin in our lives? Better yet, who and what are we willing to “cut off” in order to protect our minds and bodies from sin? Are we willing to “cut off” people who are bad influences? Are we willing to “pluck ourselves” away from seedy and sinful places? Are we willing to stay away from “those” situations that cause us to stumble?
Jesus is serious about the effects of sin. Are we? He came down from heaven to die, not for the weather or to give us investment advice, but for OUR SINS. He was willing to be cut off from the land of the living for us. Are we now willing to cut off sinful thoughts, people, places, products and practices for him?
It’s called a decision. Either you or someone you know has “struggled” with some sin for YEARS. Does it really take that long to change? It does if we never DECIDE to do what the Lord said and begin the painful process of cutting and plucking. Yes, it hurts to distance yourself from old friends who don’t want to do right. Yes it hurts to fight off addictions and make those changes in life. And oh, those toxic relationships that never end but should have been ended 2 weeks after they started. It hurts to let go but it hurts worse to stay.
But we must decide if we would rather give up a little now or give up everything later. Make an investment in eternity by giving up those people, products and practices that bring about sin in our lives.
Extreme. Immediate. Painful. Final. But necessary.