“You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
but I tell you if you look lustfully at another, you have already committed
adultery in your heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out
and throw it away. It is better that part of you should perish, than for your
whole body to be cast into Gehenna. If your right hand causes you to stumble,
cut it off; it is better to be maimed than to be cast into Gehenna.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his spouse, let
him give a certificate of divorce,’ but I tell you that whoever divorces his spouse,
except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes an adulterer; and whoever
marries a divorced person commits adultery.”
“Again you have heard
it was said, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your
vows,’ but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the
throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for
it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, for you
can’t make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’
be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than this is of the evil one.”
Reflection
Being a rule follower tempts us to
justify doing what we want by finding loopholes and technicalities. Being
faithful means acting with integrity in all we do. Do you recognize in yourself
the temptation to circumvent rules? Do you find it easier to make excuses than
to admit guilt?
Prayer:
Confront me, Lord, when I fail to live with honor and integrity.
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