There's Hope in the Snare

Oftentimes, when I'm reading the Bible I come across different scriptures that seem to rise from the page, rear back and smack me silly across the face. They are either verses I've heard that I'm seeing in a new way or a verse that I may have not consciously stumbled across that seems to speak to me. Today, I found the former in Matthew.

"Woe to the world because of the things which cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!" Matt. 18:7

Now, there are certain things I understand. Sin is out there. Sin is bad. Sin has consequences. Sin can put you into bondage. Sin can steal God's plans from you. Sin can destroy you. I know all of these things. They are foremost on my Christian mind. However, I often overlook the repercussions that come from one who births sin and influences others to do the same.

The word 'woe' is simple to understand for it means to put in a place of suffering or misery resulting from infliction. So, in other words, it means 'Things are not good' or 'Bad things are a coming'. Let me put it this way - if the sentence starts with 'woe' in the Bible, you don't want to be between that word and the period which ends it. Comprende?

Now, here's where it's gonna get interesting. The word for 'sin' in the NT is 'hamartia'. Whenever you find the word 'sin', this is the Greek you find. However, you will not find 'hamartia' in this verse. Instead you find the Greek word 'skandalon' which is rooted in the definition 'a trap or a snare', but looking at this verse it can be defined as 'any person or thing by which one is trapped or ensnared or drawn into error or sin'.

For those of us who draw breath and have fought the good fight and felt the pull of sin understand this trap or snare perfectly. There are things which are out there that are strategically placed and are consistently calling our names. Unfortunately, those who set out the traps rarely understand the severity of their actions. Their goal is normally to get your attention and your money - little do they know that their actions are bringing on themselves a greater consequence.

Now, I believe that it's important that we are consistently searching our own life and our own actions to assure that we're not setting up traps or snares for our friends by our actions, but that's not the main point I received from this text. Instead, I saw that there is a world system that is in full motion today and I saw that Jesus said that "the system and the traps and the snares 'must come'". I saw that He was not ignorant about them and even 2000 years ago He spoke about them. Sure, in many ways they've changed throughout the centuries, but their goal remains the same.

We, in turn, should not be ignorant about them. We need to continue to reach out to those who are setting up traps due to their ignorance and share with them the good news. We need to continue to pray for those who are trapped and ensnared and struggling. We need to be patient with those who desire so much to be free but feel like they are in quicksand. We need to love until it hurts and believe until it comes true.

Sin is a trap and those who are caught need someone who's broken free from the trap to show them how to open it. They need someone who has mastered the lock to show them the way. That someone is you and your day is today. You know right now who God has put in your life that's struggling with a snare. Don't wait - reach out today and help pull them out!

And maybe you're in the snare. You're in the trap. Some days it feels like you're not going to make it. Some days you sense the quicksand is going to pull you under. Well, let me tell you about one of my favorite quotes by Francis Assisi. He said, "Be patient with everyone, but above all - yourself." In life, the one we have the hardest time with is our self. Don't give up and don't quit, but remember that God loves you and His plans for you are great!

GP
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