Am I remembering not to look down on or cause little children to sin?

5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.  10 See that you do not look down on one of these little ones.  For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”

INSIGHT:   One time while still in the early stages of compiling the teachings of Christ, at the library, I saw a teenager being very mean and nasty to his younger brother.  Because of my childhood, I can spot bullying a mile away, and it instantly made me angry.  I tried to ignore it, hoping the young man would stop, but he continued smacking him on the head, kicking his feet to trip him, and calling him names.  The young boy, probably about 8 years old, eventually erupted in frustration, “I’m not a Fuc#*&$ idiot!” That was all I could take.  I felt my blood beginning to heat up and my face turning flush.  I put my head down and whispered, “Lord, help me to calm down, and how can I help this situation your way?” 

I had been working on scripture index cards, and I had just written out today’s passage a few minutes earlier. I picked up the card, walked over to the older teenage brother, and with a calm little smile, I politely handed him the card and said, “This is for you.”  I turned around and left without saying another word.   Just minutes later, they passed by again down a different aisle and that little boy had a completely different big brother.  The bully had “left the building”!  What a wonderful moment that was!  I didn’t have to get forceful or loud with that boy—just a smile and a timely word from God, which pierced his young heart!  I have no doubt he will remember that moment for the rest of his life.

6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 

That was the first verse that came to my mind after reading my then 18-year-old daughter’s letter to the FL court in 2023, on behalf of her mother. My once loving daughter now saying I suffered from a “serious mental illness called bi-polar disorder”, displayed deranged and erratic behavior in his YouTube videos, and repeatedly calls himself “The Prophet of the Lord” and “who runs an online religious cult”.  She went on to say, “My father willfully abandoned and completely disowned his children.  I have personally viewed several videos posted by Michael S. Chriswell that are very dark and what I believe to be demonic.  He has made no attempt to see or communicate with me or my siblings in 10 years.  My biological father does not want to have anything to do with myself, my siblings, or anyone who does not believe he is a “prophet” and will not explicitly follow the teachings of his religious cult.”  Can you see how the Jews could have said this very same thing to Jesus?  “He wants nothing to do with anyone who doesn’t believe he is a prophet, and won’t follow the teachings of His cult”

If you are a parent, you might imagine how this felt to me as a father, but far more important is how God feels?  What is the consequence of causing little ones who believe in Him, to sin like this?  Why does Jesus say these offenders will be punished so severely?  Well, just look at the video today in related content of that sweet little girl quoting Bible verses her father taught her, and at the affection she shows me while teaching them the Bible.  Was not the Lord delighted in that? Yet it was all killed by Satan, through her mother, by the brainwashing of parental alienation.  But the spiritual parental alienation between those children and God is far worse than between them and me.  Tyler was the only one who escaped her lies.  This is why Jesus gave a severe warning, not because I lost children, but because He did.  They became children of the lies of their mother, and Satan not only got them believing wrong about me, but also believing wrong about God.  This is why Jesus said of religious hypocrites, “You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” (Mat 23:15) This rightly calls for us to fear the Lord!