Thursday, October 26, 2023

The Only Three Temptations That Exist

      There are only three things we are actually tempted by, and everything else is a product of our acting on those three thngs. The three things are fear, aggression, and bodily cravings; the chief of the three being fear. It is perfectly natural and normal to feel these things, as they are a normal part of our psychology as human beings. But the temptation is not to feel these things, but to take matters into our own hands and act on them. To let our own malfunctioning survival responses, which these are, take control and drive our behaviors. It is engaging with and acting on these three things which disengage us from cooperating with the Spirit of Christ and send us down the path of error and death.

     Think on it. Why do people steal? Murder? Lie? Gossip? Want what they don't have? Eat too much? Hoard things? Have sex recklessly? All of these "sins" can be traced ultimately to one or more of these three things as their causes. Their brains are responding to what they perceive as either survival threats or survival necessities, and are pushing the person to act accordingly to deal with them.

     When a temptation arises, ask yourself, "What am I afraid of happening or not happening?", "What am I angry at?", or "What does my body think it has to have in order to survive right now?" Ask, "What am I attached to that I'm afraid of losing?" or "What am I averse to that I'm afraid of gaining?" It is because of these attachments and aversions that Jesus laid down the conditions of discipleship (letting go of earthly attachments which can trigger the fear response) that He did. Fear and Agape cannot coexist in the same space. Either the God who is Agape flows through you, or you subject yourself to your own fear. You cannot serve two masters.

     Pay attention to what triggers your fear responses, and work at letting those things go internally if they cannot be let go externally.


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