Skip to main content

Temptation

           No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (I Corinthians 10:13)

 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  (Genesis 3:6)

Sadly, there’s not much that more basic than temptation. It’s a negative basic, but it may be that the only thing more basic, or more omnipresent, or more omnipotent is God.

If you read through Genesis 3, the serpent’s temptation of Eve involved many factors. The tempter ambushed her. She didn’t see it coming. He asked her questions and called God’s goodness into question, but that doesn’t seem to be what finally tripped her up. It wasn’t so much what the tempter said, but the game show model displaying of the fruit.

I can relate to Eve. The fruit provided the solution to the problem that she was so inferior to God, who was (and is) perfect, glorious, beautiful. Who wouldn’t want to solve the problem if it were so easily solved? If she ate, she’d be worthy of Him. Problem solved! How could He not be pleased with her?

There are probably other types of temptations, but the ones that trip me up all too often are the “problem solved” sort. I’m bored, I’m lonely, I’m frustrated, I’m whatever… shoving food into my mouth solves the problem. There are times when the proposed solution actually does solve a problem. There are other times when it doesn’t. And there are times when the solution causes one or more problems whether or not it solves the first one.

Usually, I agree with the experts that the first step in solving a problem is to define the terms. But if that’s the case, the zeroeth step is to determine that there is actually a problem and to define that problem. For Eve, the problem may have been definitional. She wasn’t “good enough.” Being “like the Most High” seemed to be the solution.

I suspect a lot of my temptations wouldn’t be so tempting if I stopped to think about whether there was a problem, and what the problem really is. God has given us brains to use, so that might just be one of the ways He provides for us to endure temptation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more