Temptations

James 1:13-15 (ESV)  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Temptations are a common issue for us as Christians.  We’re tempted to eat what we shouldn’t, smoke, keep something we’ve found rather than look for the owner.  These are all temptations, but are they sins and what are some of the ways we can deal with these?

First let’s look at what James has said.  He is not calling temptation a sin but hanging onto that temptation and turning into a lust or desire that is sin.  Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are but without sin:

Heb. 4:15 (ESV)  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

So, if Jesus was tempted yet didn’t sin, we are capable to resist the temptations we face all the time and not sin, but how.

I’m no perfect example, only Jesus is, so I can just tell you the methods I try and which help but don’t always succeed:

Memorize Scripture:  I have memorized a couple of passages of Scripture I can recite – when I have the presence of mind to do so.  One is the passage from James posted above.  Another is 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

The nice thing about these passages is they are fairly long.  By the time I finish reciting one, the temptation has passed or at least softened, and it has moved my mind from that doughnut or cigarette to our Lord and His Word.  This usually helps.

A second method I use is to go cold turkey.  I smoked for 16 years and “quit” several times during that period.  Problem was, I would keep a pack of cigarettes in my glove box just in case I fell.  This is called provision for sin.  I set up myself to fail.  It wasn’t until I coughed all the way to work one morning that I was angry enough with myself to throw five packs of cigarettes and a lighter into a dumpster.  By the way, this man of steel went back the very next day to retrieve them, but the dumpster was empty.  Then I was really disgusted with myself and was able to quit.

About two years ago I decided my addiction to carbohydrates was not doing me any favors.  I’m six foot and weighed 276 lbs.  My doctor said if I ever reached 200 lbs, he’d kiss me full on the lips.  Not being of that ilk, I sought other medical advice but I did reach 200 lbs after 10 months of a very restrictive low carbohydrate diet.  I have frequented convenience stores regularly for years, and I love sugar and baked goods.  To me, convenience stores are nothing more than a framed building surrounding a full variety of temptations.  They were how I got that large, but they also are where I get the copious amounts of diet cola I consume even today.  If I was going to lose the weight and still collect my diet soda, I would have to face temptations head on.  What I did was convince myself I just don’t eat that stuff anymore.  Sure I see it, but before the temptation turned into consumption, I would “Just say no.”  For some of us and for some categories of temptation, that will work.

Ask a friend to hold you accountable.  Sometimes it is necessary to confess your sin to a friend and have him/her hold you accountable for your commitment.  I’ve had friends ask me to hold them accountable for lots of temptations they wouldn’t tell anyone else.  In the case of pornography, there are sites where men can pay a monthly fee to have their computer use monitored and reported to their wives, friends, pastors, etc.  Covenanteyes.com is one of these, but the man needs to be serious.  The friend or wife will get a full account of where they have been online.  These sites are very effective.  Every Man’s Battle, the book by Steven Arterburn, is helpful as well.

Why is this important?

It’s not our temptations that separate us from God but what we do with them.  We need to have tools that help keep us from taking the next step into sin.  The other day, I was in a, you guessed it – a convenience store – and got talking with the young man in front of me.  He was buying cigarettes.  I mentioned the high price compared to the sixty five cents a pack I paid for my last one.  He smiled and told me he had shaken his addiction to heroine and was working on his cigarette habit.  He was smoking to handle the stress he still felt from the addiction to drugs.  I would certainly not fault him for that. Sometimes we need to lean temporarily on a lesser fault to overcome a greater one.