woe to him by whom they come

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Titus 1:1-9 Psalm 24:1-6 Luke 17:1-6

Luke 17:1  And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!

Yes, we will be tempted to sin.  This is unavoidable in this life. But the question is do we just look the other way when others lead people to sin, or worse, so we lead people to sin?  Often we will try to justify our sin by mainstreaming it.  That is, if we can get others to do it then we don't feel as though we are doing wrong.  Unfortunately the odds are that if everybody else is doing it, it probably is wrong.  We must stand up for truth and righteousness.  Our complacence only aids others in their sinful agendas.  We must speak up and rebuke people when we see them leading others to sin.  Forgive them when they repent, but rebuke when they don't.

Father, help me by your Holy Spirit to always seek to build others up in the truth and the righteousness of God.  Lead me away from temptation, but when it comes give me the strength to stand up to it.

Amen