What is causing you to sin?

Mark 9:43

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.

I know it has taken me a whole week to sit down and write about this but it has been something that I have been thinking about it all week after hearing it in the Gospel and hearing my priest speak about it last Sunday at mass.  
Plenty of the sins that I commit involve my hands (as well as other body parts), but I know that Jesus it not literally telling us to all go out and cut off our hands.  Last week my priest spoke about how we need to cut out the parts of our life and our way of thinking that cause us to sin.  But this is hard.  I really like many of the things that lead me into sin.  I enjoy watching tv.  But many of the tv shows that I watch are not helping me have a pure heart and mind, most of them are pushing me the other way.  So now that I realize this I can make sure I don't let these tv shows influence my behaviors or thoughts, but God couldn't possibly want me to stop watching tv.  That would be to harsh.  I need to relax sometimes.  The sinning is really not that bad.  This is what I say to myself to convince myself I an following God's will.
But then I think back to last weeks gospel.  

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.

This is harsh.  We should be harsh when it comes to sin.  We do have to take drastic measures to avoid sin.  While Jesus is not telling us all to go cut off our hands, I do believe that he is instructing us that it would be better to do something this drastic then to continue to sin.  It would be worth it!  Anything would be worth it to get to spend eternal life with our Lords. 

This got me thinking about how I struggle to avoid sin everyday.  I know it will always be a struggle but are there things that I could do to avoid it.  Yes they may be drastic but they are definitely worth it. 

What are some ways that we could avoid sin?

(something to think long and hard about)

 

 Dear Lord, Help me to all that I can to avoid sin.  Help to show me what I need to do to avoid sin.