Temptation is an issue everyone is going to deal with. Whether the temptation is sexual, financial, or even violent, we all have temptations. One of my biggest temptations is food. I like sweet food. I have had a sweet tooth for a long time and find it very hard to stop. But, my will power isn't strong enough to change that (Philippians 4:13).
In Luke 17:1-2, Jesus shows that it would be better to have a stone around our necks and be thrown into the sea than to cause a child to sin. So, even if we mess up, that stinks, but to cause a child to sin is even greater in God's eyes. Children depend on us to teach them what is right and wrong from God's perspective. If we stray off of God's path and teach a child to fight and resort to violence, is that setting them on the path to being Christ like? What about our words? How do we talk about people we are not fans of? Do we make fun of them and call them names? Kids pick up on things that we don't always think we are teaching them. A parent may not teach a child to drink underage but the parent could have a very liberal system at home that allows for the children to be influenced by the parents usage of alcohol. We have to watch ourselves.
As a matter of fact, the next thing Jesus says in (verses 3-4) is to "pay attention" to ourselves. Not just pay attention to who we are and how we are around children, but also how we are when people come to us and seek forgiveness from us. He tells us that if our brother sins, we rebuke him (expression of sharp disapproval or criticism). And if he repents we forgive him. We cannot hang on to the past hurt and not forgive. If we do that then that is like saying God shouldn't forgive us for our trespasses against Him and no one else should forgive our sins against them. Jesus is speaking about a community here. We are not just individuals with no affect on each other. We are all connected which is part of why we are commanded to love one another.
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