For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea...Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.
What stumbling blocks have you encountered along life's way? An illness, unemployment, unexpected death or loss, a lack of funds, no health insurance, a disgruntled family member? The list is long and mighty of those things we might call stumbling blocks that keep us from staying on the divine path.
And when that happens, we are prone to throw our hands up in the air and say, "Forget it! This is just too hard!" And often we do. But more often than not, we dig deep and find the resources to turn those stumbling blocks into character building fodder for the journey.
What happens sometimes that we are less aware of, though, is our own 'stumbling block' throwing. Times when we throw stumbling blocks in someone else's journey, in the way of someone else's divine path. We do it for all kinds of crazy reasons. Jealousy, anger, greed, frustration, disappointment, grief, pettiness, ambition. And when we do it, it is sin. I think, in fact, that is what most of the Bible would define as the purest example of sin... things thrown in the way that prevent people from being able to stay on the divine path. And when we are the 'block casters', well, that is tragic. This scripture above says it is as if we tied a huge rock around our necks and hurled ourselves into the sea. The worst of the worst.
So, what do we do to improve our flaws of character? What do we do to prevent pettiness and anger and greed and ambition and 'stumbling block casting' in our lives? Jesus ends this scripture by saying "Be at peace with one another." Realize the saltiness, the seasoning, that God has given you to flavor the earth and believe in it. When you believe in your own specialness, then you are more likely to offer peace to the earth.
We sing a song called "Let There Be Peace On Earth" that most of us love. The best line in it of course is 'and let it begin with me.' It's how the song begins and ends. And it is how our lives should begin and end. "Let There Be Peace On Earth and let it begin with ME."
What do you do that casts stumbling blocks on the paths of others? What do you do when they are cast your direction? Think of all the things that you can do to create paths of peace instead.
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