Avoiding Hell – Mark 9:43-50

Everyone has embarrassing family members and embarrassing tendencies. Perhaps you’re sitting next to your embarrassing family member this morning. And what do we typically do with our embarrassing family members at public functions? We distance ourselves from them. We don’t want to be seen as associated with these individuals lest we, too, be viewed as awkward. For instance, my father used to have a booming laugh in the movie theatres that would cause me to shrink in my seat. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “I can’t take y’all nowhere!” Or perhaps it’s your own idiosyncrasies that you’re embarrassed by, so you ensure that no one else knows about it. I have a couple of those myself. We all have embarrassing family members and quirks that we want undisclosed from others.