Temptations

          No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

          Gulp. No, this isn’t one of my favorite verses. I wish it were, but for it to be a favorite, I’d have to feel far more confident of my ability to endure or escape temptation. Like most people, I’m far, far better at giving in to temptation than at enduring it or at escaping it.

          The first thing Paul says about the temptations we are to endure is that they are common. Normal. We tend (are tempted) to want to be special. It’s tempting to think that either the temptations we experience are greater than those experienced by others, or that we are weaker. In one way or another, we’re the exception.

When Paul says, “Nope,” another temptation comes along. If we are not the exception, then maybe the thing we’re tempted to do isn’t so bad. Everyone experiences it. How can it be evil if it’s natural, normal, or routine? The problem is that falling down and throwing up are both natural, normal, and routine (under the right circumstances.) We don’t tend to look at those as something we want to do any more than necessary. In and of itself, being natural, normal, or routine does not make a thing advisable, desirable, or good.

          The second thing Paul says is that God is faithful, and he won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able. With the right hand, we wipe our foreheads. Whew, God won’t let it be too big a temptation. With the left hand, we do a facepalm or an “I’ve got a headache” rubbing of the forehead because God won’t let it be too big a temptation, but we’ve failed again. (Oops!)

          The third thing that Paul says is that God will give us a way out. I want that way out to be marked with neon lights and be easy. I’d like it to make me look strong and good without my having to be strong or good. I want it to be miraculous. The truth is that the way to endure anything involves endurance, which means repeated, consistent hard work over protracted periods.

           I wish I could provide a definitive list of the means God provides as a way out. Several come to mind. One is to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. If someone is that important, if we want to please Him that much, and we know that something displeases Him, that may be enough to stay our hand. A second is to love our neighbor as ourselves, using the same idea. A third is to love ourselves rightly and enough that doing something that isn’t good for us doesn’t hold as much allure as doing something that is good for us.

          A fourth way is to change our minds about the things that tempt us. How many people give in to temptation because it’s bad for them or because they don’t want the thing in question? I can and will boast in the fact that I am never tempted by Brussel’s Sprouts. Windows don’t whisper sweet nothings in my ear about washing them. Spending money? Eating foods that aren’t good for me, or more food than I need? Procrastinating about something I should do. Oh yes, those things tempt me. Why? Why don’t I change my mind about these things? Why don’t I at least try, at least about the things that do tempt me?