(NOTE: This is chapter four of my book “The Sinner’s Survival Guide“)
Temptation
I was hounded by temptation for most of my life. I resisted it plenty of times but many other times I gave into the temptation. But it didn’t matter. Whether I resisted or not, I always felt guilty. Guilt from temptation is something I struggled with greatly. For example, I used to read Mathew 5:28 in a very self-condemning way:
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Taken at face value, to me this meant that if I even looked at a woman and noticed she had hair like my wife’s or had a pretty dress or face that that was it! I’d sinned. I was doomed. It was as plain as anything – I looked at a woman, noticed something particular about her and because of this I was going to hell. I could have just gotten out of the confessional, simply looked at a woman and thought that I needed to go back into the confessional again. But the thing is, I didn’t lust, I looked; so it was my misunderstanding of the law that convicted me. I almost wondered if the only remedy wasn’t the very next verse:
“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” [1]
But in studying this verse I found that this is not what the scripture meant. The word “looketh” in Hebrew is βλέπω (pronounced ble’-pō). And yes, it does means “to see with the eye”. But it also means:
- to discern mentally, observe, perceive, discover, understand
- to perceive by the senses, to feel
- to discover by use, to know by experience
Now this is much more than simply looking! This would not be simply entertaining sin, but letting the sin entertain me and this is not what I was doing at all. Jesus did not say “looking is the same as sinning” since we “look” all day long. I wasn’t looking lustfully, but the devil had me convinced that it didn’t matter; I’d sinned even if I was only looking. Satan had told me that temptation itself was a sin, and I believed him. But temptation is not a sin; dwelling on it and entertaining the temptation – now that is crossing the line and that constitutes sin.
But there I was; making Satan’s job easier by self-condemning for something I was not even guilty of. Satan must love me for how often I did this! He must think “Boy, if the whole world were full of people like this guy, I could take a vacation for a full month and no one would even notice”.
The point is, we face temptation every single day. It’s our lot in life to constantly be tempted – beginning with the fall when we told God “no thanks – we can handle this ourselves”. The thing is this; temptation is for the most part external. It may seem like it is all internal, but it really isn’t. True, we may internalize it, but it almost always starts from an external seed. For example, a person probably wouldn’t think of shoplifting if they were not in a store. Another probably wouldn’t think of fornication or adultery if they were not looking at pornography. Now, it’s true that there are times where you find yourself thinking of a certain sin that may have nothing to do with your immediate surroundings but I’ll wager that you got to that point via an external influence.
For example; have you ever been going along happy as a lark and suddenly, out of nowhere you have an evil thought? Maybe you are driving and you see a person standing at a bus stop that reminds you of someone you do not like. You then daydream about what that person did to you. Next you move to imaging hurting that person and before you know it you are imagining running them over with your car. “Wait…. What!? Where did that come from?!” you exclaim as you shake yourself back to reality.
So there you are. One minute you are driving along happy as a lark and the next thing you know you are day dreaming about running over a complete stranger, all the while wondering how you got there and what a terrible person you must be!
How you got there was that a seed was planted and Satan did the rest. [2] It doesn’t even have to be an “evil” seed per se. It only has to be enough of a distraction for Satan to work with. His job is now complete. The seed is planted, watered and grew, and there you sit in traffic feeling guilty for something you didn’t even do and now you think you need to confess a sin that you didn’t even commit!
How do we combat this? Well, do you remember the game “four square”? In this game, kids would gather in a group and bounce a ball randomly to someone else in the group. A topic would be chosen (for example, cartoon characters) and if the ball was bounced to you, you would have to respond with an answer (a cartoon character) and, without hesitation (no holding onto the ball) bounce the ball to another random person.
Sin like this; except that all of mankind is playing the game and we never know when the ball (temptation) will come our way. Now imagine you are standing there when suddenly temptation comes your way. Instead of responding with a cartoon character however, you respond with “Jesus help me” and throw the ball back to the tempter rather than another player.
That, by the way is how it should be played. Unfortunately, many of us hold on to the ball. We look at it, feel its heft, and examine the stitching on the ball, read the words on it etc. In other words, we entertain our sins. Worst of all, sometimes we throw the ball to other “players” (i.e. we lure others into our own sinfulness) and this is the worst thing we can do (more on this in chapter 5) In short, the key is to recognize the sin and throw it back into the tempter’s face as quickly as possible. Consider this quote:
“Don’t look on temptations as if they are yours; don’t allow yourself to make them a matter of conscience. The enemy will certainly take flight if you treat him and his company with contempt in this way. He’s very proud and can’t bear to be despised and spurned. So the best remedy is to completely ignore all such temptations…To be tempted is not a sin. Rather it is an opportunity for exercising virtue. So temptation can be greatly to our benefit” [3]
So that is how temptation works. All that is needed is the smallest crack for Satan to wiggle his way in and once in, he will continue to nurture and grow that seed for as long as you dwell on that particular thought. Granted, if we continue to entertain the thought or act on, it then we are guilty of sin but if we catch ourselves and rebuke the thought (along with Satan too) then far from being guilty we are victorious! Personally, I find that Satan is usually not subtle and when he invades my thoughts it’s usually something shocking and grotesque (like running over a stranger at a bus stop). The good news is, he is easy to spot when he acts upon you in this manner. The bad news is, many people do not believe he exists or discount him and blame themselves for the thought.
The fact is, we cannot avoid temptation and it is the fall from Eden that guarantees that we will be tempted. Likewise, some of these temptations will lead to sin in your life. Guaranteed. No if’s and’s or but’s. So how do we minimize temptation? The best solution would be to simply filter each and every thought and while this may sound simple, it is impossible to do even for short periods of time. Go ahead…try it for a while. Set a stopwatch and sit for just two minutes and take note of every thought that comes across your mind. It’s hard to do! It takes a lot of work to constantly monitor your own thoughts, yet this is exactly the type of work that we need to do to keep us vigilant against Satan’s wiles.
So is it hopeless? No, but the trick is to be on guard (at least as much as we can) with our thoughts so that when we first start to realize we are being led where we do not want to go, we can stop it immediately and get back on track. So when you are tempted and you resist…rejoice! Most important of all, never feel that you MUST give into temptation, for this is from the evil one. Remember that you have a secret weapon to wield against the devil in any and all occasions – free will. St. Catherine of Sienna tells us that:
“Each soul can, by its free will, make a choice either of good or evil, according to how it pleases the will. So great is this liberty we have and so strong has this liberty been made by virtue of Christ’s glorious Blood, that no demon or creature can constrain us to one smallest fault without our free consent.” [4]
Jesus knew very well that we would face temptation because He faced it too. In fact, when the disciples asked Him how to pray, part of that prayer dealt with temptation. Jesus said:
“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” [5]
But why would God “lead us into temptation”??
I agree…to me that seemed like an odd thing to ask God. After all, He wouldn’t really lead us into temptation… would He? No, He wouldn’t, but what the prayer actually means is that we should ask God to not let us fall into so great a temptation that we cannot resist it and allow that temptation to turn to sin. Face it; temptation is everywhere. Asking God to protect us from encountering any temptation whatsoever is not realistic. It would be like a fish asking to not get wet.
So how do we resist that which is all around us? Through grace of course! So when we say “lead us not into temptation” we are really praying “give us sufficient grace to resist the temptations we will face today”.
But why all the temptation in the first place? What good does it do to be constantly tempted? Well, temptation is like any other training; it’s only effective if it is practiced and regimented. If we went days or weeks without any temptation, when temptation did come along we would not be able to handle it and we’d fall into the first trap we came across. So it is the constant temptation that keeps us in good spiritual shape.
Just as the law is useful to point out our sin, temptation is useful in our fight against sin. Temptation should be a red flag, a warning that something is about to happen and we need proper training to a) recognize it and then b) derail it before we fall into its trap. So just like that guard rail on the highway, it is the temptation itself that keeps us on the road.
Like everything else in life, resisting sin takes practice. It’s like a man who decides that he wants to become a boxer. He doesn’t start his training by taking on the champ, he starts by sparring with a coach. Then He then goes on to tougher and tougher challengers and he boxes every day while training. Sin is like this except that we don’t seek out our opponent; our opponent (Satan) seeks us out! This is why, as we progress in our faith, a spiritual advisor is essential. What is a spiritual advisor? Think of it this way. To avoid bankruptcy, you see a financial advisor. If, however, you are already bankrupt, you need a bankruptcy lawyer. A spiritual advisor is someone who helps you to avoid sin, but if you are already in sin, then you need a confessor. Think of a spiritual advisor then as your own personal boxing coach.
Just like a spiritual adviser, the job of a parent is to teach their children to avoid sin. This is most commonly accomplished by keeping them safe in their surroundings. For example; a home with a newborn will have baby gates and cupboard locks so that the child cannot get into trouble. Later as the child grows he or she can be trusted to the point that the baby gates and cupboard locks can be removed. Once the baby gates are down and the cupboard locks are removed, the only thing that keeps the child from the edge of the steps or from out of the cupboards is the child’s ability to resist temptation through the training they received.
In the church it is the same way. For example, a new person entering the church is not given the job of counting the money in the collection basket. This is a job given to someone more senior with a track record of trust. This is a gradual process and for those that pass the test, more and more is expected:
“Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” [6]
This is why only those who are well known, of good character and possessing a trustworthy nature are allowed to count the money. This is also why not everyone is called to the religious order and for those who are the tests are even harder:
“Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to too much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” [7]
So you can see that far from being protected from all temptation, those seeking the position of Deacon (as well as other positions in the church) should expect to be tested.
Or; think of temptation like you think of fire. Fire can be used for good (to warn you that the opportunity for sin is just around the corner) or for bad (to burn your house down and consume all you own). Both should be respected for the damage that they can cause. The next time you face temptation, remember that temptation is a test. If you pass the temptation without sinning, congratulate yourself – but don’t be surprised when more is asked and expected of you.
Jesus did not promise a smooth flight, but He did promise a safe landing. In other words, not only can you expect temptation, Jesus promised that you would be tempted!
And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” [8]
Did you catch that last part? “…but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck”. In other words, woe to the person doing the tempting (but more on that in the next chapter)
I’d like to leave this chapter with a quote from Blessed Julian of Norwich:
“[Jesus] did not say: You will not be troubled; you will not be tempted; you will not be distressed. But he said: You will not be overcome.” [9]
Did you like this excerpt? If you want to order your own copy of “The Sinner’s Survival Guide” click HERE
[1] Matthew 5:29
[2] In this case that “seed” would be unforgiveness for whatever that person did to us. By harboring such animosity, we give Satan a mighty stick to beat us with.
[3] Attributed to St Albert the Great
[4] http://www.ccel.org/ccel/catherine/dialog.iv.iii.v.html
[5] Matthew 6:9-13
[6] Luke 12:48
[7] 1 Timothy 3:9-13
[8] Luke 17:1-2
[9] http://www.catholicspiritualdirection.org/revelations.pdf