Temptation Buddies

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (I Corinthians 10:13)

I am glad to know you also suffer from temptations. Oh, I am not happy that you are tempted, but it is good to know that we are all in the same boat on as it comes to facing temptations that sometimes threaten to be our undoing! Temptations are nothing more than choices - we can go one way or the other. Martha Beck reminds us, "Every day brings new choices." What are the choices you or I will be faced with today? Will they differ much from the ones we faced yesterday? If we didn't deal with the stuff that tempted us yesterday, what makes us think we will face them any differently today? We might face them differently today if we have prepared to face them - with the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit within, and a good friend or two to help us choose wisely.

While you and I face similar temptations, the method or means of the temptation may be quite dissimilar. I may be tempted to break a promise I made to live a low-carb lifestyle by indulging 'just once'. You may be tempted to break a promise you made to walk every day just because you have such a busy day today. We are both tempted to do something that is contrary to our good health, but in different ways. The choices are similar, but not the same. Both choices will affect our health in some manner, but the 'root' of the choice may be slightly different. This is why it is so important to involve the Holy Spirit in forming a 'plan' to avoid the wrong choice. 

Does scripture tell us to eat low-carb? No, but it does tell us to respect the Temple of the Holy Spirit which is declared to be our bodies. Does it tell us to get exercise daily? No, but if exercise makes the Temple stronger, then it is not a good thing to avoid it. The plan is important, but a plan that isn't backed with power is kind of wishy washy! God tells us with each temptation comes a means by which to overcome it. In simple terms, it a set of two choices. One leads us down the path that gives into our 'fleshly' desires and the other leads down a path that actually 'builds us up' in our inner man. Perhaps this is the best 'plan' for temptation - to have a plan that actually 'builds us up' and doesn't leave us 'torn down'. Let's make a plan to be 'temptation buddies' who help each other be 'built up' rather than 'torn down'. Just sayin!