Try to be direct

Jesus, help me ask for what I need! Amen.

"If your hand makes you sin, cut it off," Jesus said. "It's better to go to heaven with one hand than to have two hands and not get into heaven. If your eye makes you sin, take it out. It's better to enter heaven with one eye than to have two and not go to heaven."

People don't always say what they mean. If you're tired, you might say something cranky when you don't mean to be that way; you really should be saying, "I'm tired." It just comes out another way.

Even Jesus didn't always mean exactly what He said -- and it's a good thing, because in this week's Gospel (Mark 9:39-48), He talks about cutting off our arms and eyes!

If you want a hug from a grownup, instead of asking for it, you might act sad and hope they'll understand that you mean you want a hug. That's not too different from what Jesus did. He told people that if an eye made them sin -- for example, if they were getting distracted and looking at other things when they were supposed to be studying in religion class -- they should yank it out.

Jesus didn't really want people to go around cutting off parts of their bodies! Like you, Jesus just wasn't asking for what He wanted directly. What He wanted was for people to follow God -- and to do whatever was necessary to help themselves do that.

If they were studying and got distracted, Jesus hoped people would think about how good it is to have eyes, and look back at their books. If they were stealing, they should remember not everyone has arms and use those arms for helping, not hurting people.

And if you're not asking for what you need, Jesus would want you to be direct, too. You don't have to pretend you're sad to get a hug -- or cut off your arm to stop using it for bad habits!