from rock to stumbling block

“Get behind me Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23) 

In the matter of a few short verses, Simon Peter somehow managed to go from “rock” to “stumbling block.”  I mean, how in the world does something like that happen?  Well, in this case it happened through a subtle but severe shift in thinking.  It happened when Simon Peter stopped “having in mind the things of God” and started “having in mind the things of men.”  It happened when he stopped denying himself and became full of himself.  It happened when he stopped taking up his cross and, instead, started trying to force his own agenda.  It happened when he started trying to save his life, rather than being willing to lose his life.  That’s all it took.

Is that not frightening?  Could it really be that easy to lose our bearings?  Could it really be that easy to get sucked into the world’s way of being and seeing?  And the really scary part is that, oftentimes, the shift takes place without our even knowing it.  Therefore, we must pay careful attention, lest the very same thing happen to us.