I have a friend who one day saw an unfamiliar dog sniffing
around in his back yard. The dog was a beauty ---- seemingly
thoroughbred, with clean lines and friendly disposition. My friend called
the dog over to him and saw there was a dog collar which had the name, address
and phone number of a person, apparently the owner, who lived on the other side
of town.
My friend said he then had two conflicting thoughts.
Should he call the person identified on the dog collar to come and collect this
dog? Or, should he take the collar off and adopt this beautiful animal
for himself? Clearly, my friend was being tempted.
What is "temptation"? Webster says that to
"tempt" is "to entice to do wrong by the promise of pleasure or
gain." It seems to start when we become aware of a desire inside
of us. It may be a sinful desire, like the desire to get revenge or to
control others. Or, it may be a legitimate, normal desire, like the
desire to be loved and valued, or to feel pleasure. But
"desire" starts to become "temptation" when we think about
giving in to evil desire, or to fulfill a legitimate desire in
a wrong way or at the wrong time.
Temptation always starts in one's mind, not in the circumstances outside of us.
Next, in the progress of temptation, some doubt arises
about whether what we are tempted to do is really wrong.
Clearly, this dog was the property of another person, but every dog needs
shelter, food and love, and my friend was ready, willing and able to provide
those things. Did God really say not to keep the dog? Didn't God
mean this prohibition for someone else or some other time? Didn't God
want my friend to be happy?!
The next step would be deception, a step that
some people attribute to the work of Satan. In this view, Satan is
incapable of telling the truth. Satan offers his lie to replace what God
has already said in His Word. One can expect Satan's little voice inside
us to say things like: "You can get away with it. No one will ever
know. It will solve your problem. Besides, everyone else is doing
it. It is only a little sin." But a little sin is like being a
little pregnant ----it will eventually show itself.
Finally, my friend would need to act, or not
act, on the thought he had been toying with in his mind. Would what began
as an idea, get born into behavior? Would he now give in to the desire to
keep the dog?
Understanding how temptation works is in itself helpful, but
there are specific steps one can take to prevent wrong choices.
In his book, "The Purpose Driven
Life," Pastor Rick Warren says that some Christians feel
ashamed just for being tempted. This is a misunderstanding, says Pastor
Warren. One never outgrows temptation. It is not a
sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted. Temptation only becomes a
sin when one gives in to it, says Warren.
Pastor Warren goes on to urge us to recognize our patterns
of temptation and to be prepared for them. He says there are certain
situations that make us more vulnerable to temptation than others. Some
circumstances will cause us to stumble almost immediately, he says, while
others don't bother us much. Ask yourself, "When am I most
tempted? What day of the week? What time of day? Where am I
most tempted? At work? At home? At a sports bar?"
It may be when we are tired or lonely or bored or depressed or under
stress. It may be when we have been hurt emotionally, or are angry, or
after a big success or spiritual high. Wise planning reduces bad outcomes
from temptation, urges Pastor Warren.
Importantly, Rick Warren says that heaven has a
"twenty-four hour emergency hot-line." Pastor Warren believes
God wants us to ask for assistance in preventing bad temptation choices.
When temptation choices develop, he says, you may not have time for a long
conversation with God ---- you simply cry out!
Rick Warren concludes by saying, "If God is waiting to
help us defeat the unwise temptation choice, why don't we turn to Him more
often? Perhaps sometimes we don't want to be helped. We may want to
give in to temptation even though we know our choice is wrong. At that
moment we think we know what's best for us more than God does. At other
times we are embarrassed to ask God for help because we keep giving in to the
same temptation choice over and over.
Oh, and what did my friend finally do about the temptation
to keep that handsome, wandering dog? Just then, his wife came home and
found him struggling with the temptation. "Don't be silly," she
said, "give me the dog collar so I can call the dog's owner.!"
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some personal growth this year
at CPC.
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