If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30)
In a straight-forward sense, this is a logical idea. Doctors know that sometimes an amputation is the only way to save a person’s life. Jesus’s statement simply follows the logical extension of this idea. If you know that a part of your body will lead you to ultimate and infinite torment, it is only logical to remove it and cast it away from yourself.
Jesus’s teachings are rarely only understood at one level. Despite the views of some medieval theologians, I do not believe that he wanted people to start maiming themselves. These particular verses are usually grouped with his earlier statements about adultery. Thus, even though he says an “eye” and a “hand,” we know what “member” he was really talking about; don’t we, guys? Too many men think with their lower brain and use their physiology as a way to not take responsibility for their actions. Jesus is not saying that if this was truly the case, it would be better for these men if they were made eunuchs; instead, he says that having urges is not an excuse. He says that we are responsible for our actions.
This goes beyond just our anatomy. What we watch, listen to, participate in, as well as who we befriend or associate with all influence who we are as people and what we do. In the end, however, we are responsible for our actions. If we truly cannot handle the urges that come from seeing, hearing, or participating in outside events, then we need to cut those parts of our life off and cast them away from us. Still, even if we continue these associations, that does not excuse our resulting behavior.
I go through this debate regularly in regards to video games. I love playing video games, but I occasionally sin in response to my experience (swearing, yelling at my children, lusting after women other than my wife) as well as commit sins of omission because I am playing a video game rather than doing other more beneficial things. I sometimes wonder if I should stop cold turkey, cut off the habit and throw it away from myself. When I read, hear, or even think about the above verses in a literal fashion, I wonder if that is what God is trying to tell me: that I would be truly great if only I did not waste so much of my time on these trivial experiences. What I have come to realize, even if I have not been fully able to follow through on my realization, is that what I need to do is take responsibility for my life and actions. I do not need to throw away video games to do this (any more than I need to gouge out my eyes); I simply need to not allow myself to use them as an excuse.
Jesus asks us to do hard things. In this case, as difficult as removing a part of our lives can be, he is asking for us to do something even more challenging: to examine our actions and motivations, and take responsibility for them.