Had to Cut Off My Hand

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JonahLynx

JonahLynx

Senior Member
#1
Dec 28, 2014
1,017
30
48
#1
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 5:30

Tonight I cut off my hand... at least it felt that way. But I've finally ended an unhealthy friendship with a girl that has been eating away my spirit and convicting me for so long. I wish it was easier to choose God over self and did not result in so much pain. But what's done is done and I know He'll stop the bleeding over time. Up to this point I think He held back my life until I decided to sacrifice the most important things. Now it's an agonizing freedom - freedom at last from ages of guilt and conviction.

Have you ever had to "cut off a hand?" How long did it take to recover, and did you grow as a result?
 
MultilingualMessenger

MultilingualMessenger

Senior Member
#2
Jan 27, 2015
2,690
367
83
#2
Before I read through the whole post, I actually thought you cut off your hand. :p In my mind, I was like, "Now that's dedication!" Haha. Good question! Made me think. I understand "cut off a hand" in a different way now, and I realize that we probably do it constantly, much more than we realize (once we understand it metaphorically speaking).

I think that I have "cut off a hand" before. There are plenty of people who I no longer follow on Facebook, to let no unclean thing come before my eyes. There are also certain influences I've cut out of my life. I went cold turkey on some people/things and I don't regret it at all, nor was it too difficult to do. If I ever feel tempted to fall back into an old bad habit, I remind myself why it's bad for me and that God doesn't want me to do that. Nips it right in the bud. I've definitely grown from it. I've grown to know that I don't have to accept everything in my social environment, and I feel empowered to exercise much more control over my surroundings/circumstances, specifically to keep myself on the right track.
 
cinder

cinder

Senior Member
#3
Mar 26, 2014
4,328
2,361
113
#3
JonahLynx said:
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 5:30

Tonight I cut off my hand... at least it felt that way. But I've finally ended an unhealthy friendship with a girl that has been eating away my spirit and convicting me for so long. I wish it was easier to choose God over self and did not result in so much pain. But what's done is done and I know He'll stop the bleeding over time. Up to this point I think He held back my life until I decided to sacrifice the most important things. Now it's an agonizing freedom - freedom at last from ages of guilt and conviction.

Have you ever had to "cut off a hand?" How long did it take to recover, and did you grow as a result?
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Good for you for finally finding the courage and determination to do the right but painful thing.
I want to encourage you to keep close to God during this time, he won't waste your pain and though the friendship was difficult and unhealthy God can bring good growth and changes in your life through this.

I was in a possibly similar circumstance, having a friend that I met at church but who wasn't walking the talk. It has taken me a while to process everything and just to be okay with the fact that there were both good and bad aspects to that friendship. But I have to admit that that friendship has had a profound impact on my life and motivated some good changes (though without God they could have just as easily have been bad changes). One thing that has helped me is to admit to myself that I miss the closeness and companionability of that friendship more than I miss the actual person. Or to put it another way, I miss having a friend like that more than I actually miss my friend. That's a good test question for when you are tempted to try to go back. Stay strong brother.
 
slave

slave

Senior Member
#4
Mar 20, 2015
6,307
1,097
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#4
God bless you for your faithfulness...Yes I have cut my hand off as it were. In fact I would go one better...the weaker I get the stronger I become in Christ Jesus. And as I live in the Spirit of God more than my will and mind, to the point of rendering myself Dead!... as I coexist with Him on this walk in the "New Me"... I find it easier to have victory when I but give up! Surrender all, Or cut my hand off as you put it if needed,, in reference to scripture.

Now that verse represents a literal comparison, of an actual body part compared to the eternal death of Hell. And it is an eye-opener of a message in that verse. It begins to have us see the things that are truly Important versus the trivial issue we place on the high shelf of our lives. I have been reading Revelations lately...wow! It takes the aligning of truth in the verse you used and highlights those points 100 fold in that book....Gods reality is going to happen whether we get it or not.

I see you got it! And yes God will mend you for it...just be patient, and thank Him for the victory, don't doubt what you've done and your faithfulness and obedience will be your blessing. God bless you! Keep your eyes on Him..
 
Lynx

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
#5
Aug 13, 2014
24,913
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#5
I've had to cut off a hand before. In my case it was a Playstation 2.

See I used to not have a life back when I was a teen. I played video games for lack of anything better to do. As in I played video games ALL THE TIME. When I moved back down to west TN and started going to church this became a problem, I would go to church but my thoughts would still be on whatever game I was involved with at the time. I even fooled myself into thinking it wasn't really a problem because I could put it down for a week at a time and not really feel I missed it. But then I'd pick the controller back up and be right back where I started, playing games all the time, thinking about them when I was at work or church.

So one day on the way to work God started telling me I needed to finally ditch it. Not that video games are eeeeeevil, but for me they were a problem. I argued with God about it all the way down the highway. When I got to work I called my Grandma and told her my decision to sell the game console - just for insurance, so I wouldn't talk myself out of it during the work day.

Yeah, I know. Big deal, giving up video games. Well for me it was a big deal.
 
Z

zaoman32

Guest
#6
#6
I never cut off a hand, but I've done a foot, and an ear...and a couple fingers...and yet I'm still ridiculously attractive...
 
S

ServantStrike

Guest
#7
#7
zaoman32 said:
I never cut off a hand, but I've done a foot, and an ear...and a couple fingers...and yet I'm still ridiculously attractive...
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Well come on man, you know how it is. Some of us are just too awesome for women not to like.

Plus, chicks dig scars.
 
Olerica

Olerica

Banned
#8
Apr 15, 2014
2,050
38
0
#8
Yes, I've cut off a hand a few times. More than a few. We forget how we make things in our lives gods, how we seek them above seeking HIM. Painful for awhile, yes. But fill the painful spaces with time with Jesus, immersing yourself in the Word, praising through the pain, being thankful that God has stopped you from even this destruction so that He can bless you with what He wants you to have.

God bless you in your healing.
 
blue_ladybug

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
#9
Feb 21, 2014
70,869
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#9
​I read the title of this thread before I clicked on it, and I was like wut!? Did he have an accident or something? lol..
 
zeroturbulence

zeroturbulence

Senior Member
#10
Aug 2, 2009
24,580
4,269
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#10
Cutting off your hand qualifies you for one of these babies..

b2ap3_thumbnail_Terminator-Hand.jpg

or one of these..

tumblr_n5hei42xS61rkcicbo2_500.jpg
 
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Lynx

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
#11
Aug 13, 2014
24,913
8,167
113
#11
Speaking of that...

I was talking to a pirate one time, he had one hand missing and a hook replacing it, and he had an eyepatch over one eye. I asked him how he got the hook. He replied, "Arrr, t'was when we boarded the ship Bahrmoor. We had 'em outnumbered we did, but one of 'em still fetched me a swipe with a cutlass and cut me hand clean off. So I got this hook to replace it."

I asked him "Well, how did you lose your eye?"

"Blasted seagull pooped in me eye."

"Wow" I said, "I didn't know seagull droppings were potent enough to put out someone's eye."

"Nay" said the pirate, "When the seagull pooped in me eye, I forgot about me hook."
 
JonahLynx

JonahLynx

Senior Member
#12
Dec 28, 2014
1,017
30
48
#12
Lynx said:
So one day on the way to work God started telling me I needed to finally ditch it. Not that video games are eeeeeevil, but for me they were a problem. I argued with God about it all the way down the highway. When I got to work I called my Grandma and told her my decision to sell the game console - just for insurance, so I wouldn't talk myself out of it during the work day.
Click to expand...
That was a great decision. I'm finally starting to learn to do the right thing immediately because like you said, I'd end up talking myself out of it given time. After awhile it won't seem so bad and then another week or month goes by without motivation to change until the heat gets turned up again. Then it's the same situation. Seems better to just listen to God the first time around instead of weighing your options. :mad:
 
seoulsearch

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
#13
May 23, 2009
14,943
4,586
113
#13
Letting my husband go and not fighting him on anything involving the divorce he wanted was the hardest, most horrible thing I've ever had to do personally. It felt like I wasn't just losing a hand, but my entire soul.

But, I felt like God was telling me the whole time, "He's already made up his mind, and if you fight him, it's just going to prolong the process."

I admit to having a really hard time letting go of anyone I am close to. One of my best friends says my loyalty is both my strongest and weakest points, because I will hang on to someone 'til the cows come home, hell freezes over, and pigs fly overhead, even if God is telling me to let them go.

Sometimes my "right hand" has also come in the form of money. A long time ago I was given a small monetary academic award, and I knew God was telling me to give it to a couple at my church. I can't claim to be one of the good people who says, "Oh yes, Lord, I'd love to help those people!!" because in my eyes, it was a rather large sum of money (what broke college student wants to give away money?)

But I did it... that time... and the next... and, if I can be completely honest... I'll still probably resist in the future when it happens again, but will also feel I have no choice to obey. That's not the happy-go-lucky Christian answer... but it's a completely honest one.

I greatly admire those who obey the Lord and can make big personal sacrifices without regret or hesitation.
 
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