Lucky Lefties

Has your right hand ever betrayed you mid-prayer?

In Matthew 5, Jesus says if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Which immediately raises logistical questions for most of us who use that hand for everything important and many things we should not admit.

We really hope He was joking. Some of us are extremely right handed. We write with it. We eat with it. We point when we’re confident and gesture wildly when we’re wrong. Losing it would dramatically affect our productivity and our self esteem.

But Jesus keeps talking like He means it.

This is part of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus consistently chooses language that makes everyone uncomfortable on purpose. He is not encouraging self harm. He is telling us to stop negotiating with the thing that keeps wrecking us.

We want to ask how close is too close. Jesus answers by saying remove the access entirely. We want to know how much is allowed. Jesus responds by saying stop pretending the problem is small.

Faith is not about hoping Jesus was exaggerating. It is about trusting that He knows what is costing you more than you realize.

Questions for the Week and Strong:

1. Are you cutting off access or just moving the problem to a different pocket?

2. What is your right hand and why is it still fully operational?

3. Which sin keeps high fiving you even after you repent.

This Week in Prayer and Extreme Confidence:

Lord, there is confidence that temptation can be handled responsibly this time. That confidence has no supporting data. Please intervene immediately. Amen.