Am I Supposed to Harm Myself?
5/16/24
This is a tough question. While virtually everyone will say, "No, the Bible says you are valuable and you shouldn't harm yourself," there's a passage this particular questioner brought up. And the question instantly becomes complicated by one potential answer.
The Bible passage in question is in Matthew's Gospel, chapter five, verses 29-32. Let's take a look at it, but go back a little bit to get context. I'll quote the New King James version, which is the translation I prefer reading. Jesus is speaking to a number of his followers.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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 perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
In the greater context, this is in a series of teachings of Jesus recorded by Matthew. The series follows a three-part structure for each of a number of different issues of holiness. Here's a chart describing the structure.
5/16/24
This is a tough question. While virtually everyone will say, "No, the Bible says you are valuable and you shouldn't harm yourself," there's a passage this particular questioner brought up. And the question instantly becomes complicated by one potential answer.
The Bible passage in question is in Matthew's Gospel, chapter five, verses 29-32. Let's take a look at it, but go back a little bit to get context. I'll quote the New King James version, which is the translation I prefer reading. Jesus is speaking to a number of his followers.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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 perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
In the greater context, this is in a series of teachings of Jesus recorded by Matthew. The series follows a three-part structure for each of a number of different issues of holiness. Here's a chart describing the structure.
Let's see how the pattern works. We've got a statement of traditional righteousness. Jesus cites Exodus 20:14, "you shall not commit adultery." That's straightforward enough. We've got a vicious cycle. Looking at a woman in order to desire her in an inappropriate way, Jesus says, is in effect a form of adultery, since the desire in the heart is present. That leads to judgment. After all, if we are entertaining sexual desire toward someone in our heart, it is entirely possible for us to eventually try to act on that desire. Now, here comes the difficulty in interpreting the passage. The Bible says that the eventual outcome of sexual immorality is condemnation.
Oh, I just heard someone thinking of another question, that will be good to try answering in a Thursday post. What is sexual fidelity and why is it so important? Don't worry, it's on the list. For now, I'll just ask you to accept on faith that the eventual outcome of sexual immorality is condemnation.
Condemnation is bad. It's really bad. We want to avoid it at all costs. Most Christian theologians throughout the ages have described the condemnation of God as resulting in eternal conscious punishment after death. That's really bad.
Now, is Jesus telling us to harm ourselves so as to avoid lusting after a woman? He isn't. He is, however, telling us that something as painful and crippling as gouging out an eye or cutting off a hand is preferable to seeking out enticement to sexual desire and gratification. Again, there's a reason for this, which is much bigger than the relationship you or I might have with the person we marry. We'll get to that in a couple of weeks in a follow-up post.
Rather than telling us to harm and disfigure ourselves, Jesus is telling us that looking at someone in order to have lustful desires is even worse than something that no sane person would do.
The moral of the story? Invisible things, like desires, can still cause harm, against you or against someone else. The Bible is very clear that we want to protect our thought life, and that this is one way we can do so.
That pattern for understanding the different segments of the Sermon on the Mount worked quite well. We had traditional righteousness, a vicious cycle, and then a way of transforming ourselves. And the transformation doesn't involve amputation. It simply involves cultivating positive desires.
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