One of the most interesting stories in the Bible is found in Matthew 16. Peter had just expressed his belief that Jesus was the Messiah who would rescue humanity from their selfishness and sin. Then, just a few minutes later, Peter rebukes Jesus for explaining that He was going to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. How could someone recognize and proclaim that Jesus was the Savior of the world one minute and then proceed to tell Jesus that His plan was flawed the next?
In Jesus response to Peter's rebuke, we find a timeless truth about why Peter did what he did:
"You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." Matthew 16:23b
Just like Peter, we can find ourselves stumbling when it comes to following Jesus when we place our interests ahead of God's interests. But not only can we stumble when we place our interests above Jesus interests; we can also cause others to stumble when we place our interests above God's interests.
So are there interests in your life that compete with God's interests for your life? What are they? What needs to happen to align your interests with God's interests?
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