A Ramble About Temptation

The Scriptures say that:

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. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:13-15, WEB)

Temptations occur because inwardly we want something (or don't want something, as the case may be), and are then told “no, you can't have it your way”. For example, someone who absolutely cannot stand chocolate will not be tempted to eat one even if a hundred bars of chocolate are placed in front of them. This must be understood and accepted, if you are tempted to do something, it is because somewhere within you is the desire to do it.

We don't like to admit that fact. The married man who believes himself to be godly may refuse to admit to himself that he struggles with adulterous thoughts because he is somehow sexually attracted to women other than his wife. In other words, he doesn't want to admit that he is capable of such a thing, when in fact deep down he is not only perfectly capable of it, but a part of him wants to do so. The fact that the temptation occurs is a glaring reminder of our deep spiritual disorder; a disorder we may pay lip service to, but is painful to be reminded of in reality. It is so disturbing, and even traumatic, to the human psyche to be faced with this disorder that a person's mind can throw everything possible at him in order to avoid dealing with the reality of it.

This is why God permits temptations. We have a deep need to be constantly reminded of our problem, because we, by nature, constantly seek to ignore it and remain in self-denial about it. We have to be shown it on a regular basis. If we aren't, we will fall into the delusion that there's nothing wrong with us. Our salvation depends on us drawing nearer to God through Jesus Christ. Without the constant reminder of the problem, most of us (myself included), would drift farther and farther away as we delude ourselves into thinking that we don't have a problem and so don't need to approach Him in prayer and confession.

And, as 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, God allows the temptation to go so far, but no farther. The purpose behind permitting them is therapeutic, not to make us slide farther into the abyss. Just enough to remind us of our spiritual disorder and our need for Him, but not enough to where we can't say “no” and send us spiraling downward beyond our control.

If we are tempted to eat doughnuts when on a diet, it is because we want to eat the doughnuts and have been told “no”. If we are tempted to steal, it is because we want the item in question, and feel that we have every right to violate the person from whom we are taking it. If we are tempted to “sexual misconduct”, it is because we are sexually aroused by the thought of it and want to do it.

It is not the fault of the bikini clad girl that the self-professed Christian man struggles with his thoughts about her. The man desires her, refuses to admit it to himself or God, and continues to struggle in a losing battle until he does admit it and seeks help. Making her put on a tee shirt and blaming her for her indiscretion doesn't remove the primary problem within the man. It might be kind of her to do so in recognition of the man's weakness, but it is the man's weakness which is the issue, not her choice of swimwear.

The ironic thing about the above example, is that we, as Christian men, have a tendency to become angry with the woman and blame her rather than facing the problem within ourselves. There are some men who will blame the woman for being raped if the clothing she wore was too provocative. There are many thieves who will blame the person they stole from for their thievery. There are many people who eat doughnuts who blame the baker for making them.

The first step in the treatment of any disorder or addiction is admitting that you have one. Once this is done, in order to continue making progress you must continuously be aware that you still have that problem and come to terms with it on a regular basis. It isn't the liquor store's fault if a recovering alcoholic walks in and buys the alcohol believing that he no longer has that problem. For all intents and purposes, it isn't the drug dealer's fault if the recovering addict pops by on the street corner for a quick fix because he thinks he can handle it. If I myself were to pop by and speak to the same dealer, there would be no issue because I myself have no such addiction and would not be tempted to buy and use it.

Removing the temptation only serves to delay the inevitable if the root problem is not faced and admitted. I love watching Stargate. It is also a distraction from spiritual pursuits. Putting away the DVDs for a while doesn't solve the problem, it only delays it. Removing the DVDs altogether doesn't solve the problem, because I will be tempted to go out and replace them. The root problem is the desire to escape by watching Stargate and to see “what happens next”.

In some respects, that God permits temptation can be one of His greatest gifts in our spiritual growth because it encourages us to keep our eyes focused on Him, where they need to be, and to face the reality of our spiritual disorder.