Tempting

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13).

“There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable" (Mark Twain).

What comes to mind when you hear the word "temptation"? For some (especially for those on a diet), it might be food you know you're not supposed to eat. In the last few months, I've had to change my diet significantly, and so the list of "tempting" items has increased. That dessert or that deep-fried salty snack? They look so good, so tempting. (Why do things that are so bad for you taste so good?) Can't I just break my diet once? Or twice?

For others, temptation is much more serious and can even be life-threatening. For the addict, the object of addiction (whether that is alcohol, drugs, or some other substance) is always a temptation. Addicts know that they are never "not an addict." They are always in recovery. Lust and sex also have a strong pull on many; the growth of the pornography industry gives evidence to this. For every person, there is something that acts as a temptation, a draw, something we know we should not have but find ourselves desperately wanting.

We blame "the evil one" (the accuser, Satan) for the temptation that we give into, but let's be honest: often, Satan doesn't have to do anything for us to find ourselves in a place of temptation. We are pretty good at finding it ourselves! The issue is not whether we will end up in a place of temptation. The issue is how we respond when we are there. Do we give in? Or are we willing to do the hard work (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to resist?

It's vital to know and remember that God is there to walk with us through every time of testing which may lead to temptation. The Spirit will give us strength to resist, whatever the temptation is. To give in is to push the Spirit to the side, to tell God we don't need him or want him working in our lives. And giving in does not relieve the temptation; it makes it worse. We become connected to the object of our temptation more than we ever were before.

C. S. Lewis once wrote, “A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in" (Mere Christianity).

When tempted, we are urged by Jesus to turn to prayer. "Deliver me...help me!" I have no strength on my own to move past temptation; I need the strength God promises to be able to move past what looks so good but is so bad for my spirit into what God wants for my life, which is the best.