When I read these words of Jesus, that "if thy hand offend thee, cut it off," or "when thy eye offend thee, pluck it out," I am reminded of the story of a rich man who was trying to hire a chauffeur and he interviewed three men for the job.

He pointed to a high cliff near his home and he said to the three men, "Suppose you were driving me on the edge of that cliff--how close to the side could you safely come?"

One man said, "I could easily drive the car within 6 inches of that cliff, and not think anything about it!"

Another man said, "Certainly within a foot, without you having to worry at all!"

And the third man applying for the chauffeur's job said, "I wouldn't go anywhere near the edge of that cliff--I'd stay at least 6 feet from the side!"

It was the third man whom the rich man h…