offenses are stupid

Jesus said that we could prosper in His promises if we could avoid being offended.  The word offense comes from the Greek word skandalon which means trap stick or stumbling block.  Hunters in this particular region use a technique to catch primates.  I don’t know what they do with these monkeys and it’s not the issue, the point is they are captured.  The hunters will hollow out an oblong hole in a large stone.  Then they will put a stick, a skandalon, in the hole.  A monkey is a curious creature and they will reach in and grab the stick but they can’t remove it.  They have too much pride to let go of the trap stick and so they are taken into captivity.
 
Jesus gave us this illustration so we could be wiser than the primates.  The devil is the hunter and he puts out sticks, worthless sticks all the time and our curiosity leads us to take hold of them.  We can be too prideful to drop the stupid stick and he takes us captive.  The Lord says an offense has the same value as a stick and we won’t let go of it.  So how do we get ourselves free?
 
John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
 
Often times we struggle with the truth because we must admit we were wrong.  Taking responsibility for our lives is like letting go of a stupid stick, something you really don’t need.