Watch yourself!

He said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly 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 thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:1-4)

“Be on your guard.” Or more literally, “Watch yourselves (NIV)”, “pay attention to yourselves (ESV).”

I wonder if those words were meant more for verses 1-2 or 3-4? It’s not really clear. (Did you know that New Testament verse divisions weren’t invented until 1555?!)

Frankly, it could be used for both.

Verses 1-2 are always sobering for me. And so this was my prayer this morning:

“Father, I don’t want to be a stumbling block for people. Don’t let me cause my wife or daughter to stumble. Don’t let me cause my students or fellow teachers to stumble. And don’t let me cause my brothers and sisters at church to stumble.”

But another thing we need to guard against is bitterness when someone hurts us. We are not to hold anger in our hearts.

Rather we are to confront the person who hurt us. Not simply to vent our anger out on them. But with the purpose of reconciliation.

But as much as we are to forgive when people repent, we are to forgive even when they don’t. Not for their sake, but for our own.

If we don’t forgive, bitterness will consume us. And so in that sense, we need to watch ourselves too.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.

See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:23-24)