“One is tempted by
one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives
birth to death.” (James 1:14-15)
Being
a Christian doesn’t exempt us from temptation, nor does it say that fleeting
thoughts of temptation by themselves make
us evil or sinful. No. Temptation itself
is part of the human experience (remember that Jesus himself was tempted - read
Luke 4).
But
as the scripture above points out, what can truly destroy us in the long run is
our welcoming and nurturing of those thoughts that can lead us to act upon them in ways that are harmful
to our relationship with God, others, and ourselves. As it’s sometimes been said, “it’s the not first glance [or first drink, or
first bite) that’s bad, but the second, lingering one!”
So,
while God does not cause temptation,
He is the one that can help us overcome it.
Here’s a few keys I’ve found helpful in standing firm against the power
of temptation in life:
1)
Be grounded in God (Ephesians
6:10-17). It’s often said that “the best defensive is a good offense.”
Being ground in your relationship with God and in God’s word will provide you
with the tools you’ll need to help stave off temptation when it comes your
way. The scriptures by themselves are
not a guarantee of safety, but they provide a safe place to go when we’re
tempted, providing we know which ones to
go to! So, tend to your prayer life,
your devotional life, your Bible reading.
Attend worship at church regularly and participate in a small group --
these will help you stay grounded in God.
2)
Avoid and Flee temptation (Genesis
39:6-13). Whoever it was that tried to
sell our culture on the idea that we can just “dabble” a bit with temptation
and stop whenever we feel like it doesn’t really know very much about the
subtle power of temptation. The best way
to get yourself out of temptation is (if at all possible) not to go there in
the first place! Don’t put yourself in
compromising places, locations, websites, etc. -- don’t think of yourself as a
“super Christian” by seeing how close to the edge you can go without falling
over, because you’ll find it very difficult once you’re there to “just say
no.” And if you do find yourself there
through no fault of your own, try to mentally or even physically “flee” as
quickly as possible -- do something else, turn the radio on, change the
channel, close down the computer. Do
what Joseph did in Genesis 39.
3) Focus on the power of God
(not on the power of the temptation) (James 4:7-8). Someone once said “if you spend your time doing the do’s of life, you won’t have time to
do the don’ts!” Don’t fixate on the temptation and how strong it is, or on
what you plan to do to say “no” to it -- doing so only feeds it’s power and
keeps you focused in the wrong direction.
Instead, focus on the power of God in your life, and your focus there
will by default means the temptation won’t have power over you. Don’t try to be a “big man” or “big woman” to
overcome it in your own strength.
Instead, throw yourself on the power and safety of God and let Him fight
the battle for you! When the temptation
enters your brain, don’t try to fight it off, but instead acknowledge it and
give it to God by praying something like “God
you know I want this. But I want you more! So, please take it”
4)
Be accountable to others in honesty
(James 5:16). As a wise friend of mine
has said, “Secrecy kills, but honesty
heals!” The best antidote to
persistent sin in our life is having others we know and trust lovingly hold us
accountable to these behaviors and thoughts. In my own experience, you can do
the other three things and still fall prey to temptation fairly regularly UNLESS you do this fourth and final
thing -- loving accountability with “safe” brothers and sisters is THE KEY to
successfully using all the others.
May
these keys be beneficial to you as your practice them. Remember, God loves you and so do I!
