“One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!”
Luke 17:1 NLT
We are constantly fighting temptation, and often it’s those people we call friends who are doing the tempting. Sometimes we’re the ones who are tempting our friends.
In this Chapter of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus reminds his disciples that temptation is a constant and present danger. Perhaps we are good enough to resist the temptation, but it is even worse to be the tempter! You and I might not even realize that we’re tempting someone else!
It’s usually something quite innocuous that we say or do that creates temptation in others. “Hey, why don’t you have a beer with us after work today?!” That sounds like a friendly invitation to fellowship with workers, but for the alcoholic that one beer may ruin years of sobriety. “Dude, we’re out of town and your wife isn’t here, so come with us to a strip club!” The fun evening with friends turns into drinking too much and a quickie with a dancer.
“So what if you dented that lady’s fender! Just drive away; nobody will ever know it was you.”
“Just make something up that will make the boss happy. She doesn’t have to know what’s really happening…”
“Sure, you may like your church, but this prosperity gospel at my church is amazing! I’m making more money now than ever!”
“Congrats on not binge-drinking for a month! Let’s celebrate with a bottle of champagne!”
and so on… Is it no wonder that humanity is in the state it’s in when we’re constantly tempting and being tempted? Jesus is reminding us that though sin is bad, it’s even worse to be the one who causes another to sin! This verse in Luke is followed by these words of Jesus:
“It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. So watch yourselves! If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”
Luke 17:2-4 NLT
Jesus says it would be better to be drowned in the sea than cause others to fall into sin, so don’t tempt another person! If they try to make you sin, refuse and gently remind them that they’re doing something wrong. As always, forgive them if they realize they’re doing something wrong in the eyes of God and say they’re sorry.
Not tempting others is just as important to us as Christians as not falling for temptation.