Toying with Temptation

Do you 'toy with' temptation? If you act carelessly when it comes to the things that tempt you, kind of ignoring them, and then find yourself 'playing with' the thing that is tempting you, you are probably not resisting temptation very well. It is meant to be resisted, not ignored or toyed with at all. 

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)

Temptation comes in all forms. It can be something from 'without' such as cookies in the cookie jar 'calling' for you to eat them when you are trying to watch your weight. It can be from 'another' such as when a coworker wants to share some juicy gossip over lunch about your boss. It could even be from 'within' such as when you are feeling down on yourself and overspend on the online store.

Simply defined, temptation is the desire to do something, especially when it is unwise or just plain wrong. Sometimes we try to 'put lipstick on the pig' and tell ourselves the thing we are considering isn't 'all that bad' because you need to be happy once in a while. It doesn't matter the 'shade of lipstick' you try to use to dress up that pig we call sin; it is still sin!

Whenever we toy with temptation, we are allowing it to toy with us. If you are like so many others, there is a point of 'no return' when the temptation overtakes all manner of reason or will-power one may exhibit at other times. This is why God tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee the scene. (James 4:7) We aren't to entertain his wiles, nor are we to consider what he says as trustworthy. We are to resist - not in our own power, but in the power Christ gives when we call upon him for his help.

The more we 'toy with' temptation, forgoing the instruction to allow him to show us a way out of temptation's path, the more we will give into the wiles of our enemy. Just sayin!

Are you strong enough?

Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. (Judges 16: 19-20)

Samson and Delilah - do you recall the story of his tremendous strength against the Philistine armies? We can learn a few lessons from his life, but probably the most important center around his strengths and his weaknesses. He was a very courageous warrior - not afraid to tackle whatever was in his path. Remember the story of him slaying a lion with his bare hands, rendering his attack unsuccessful? How about him going against the Philistine army and carrying the gates of the city away with him when he felled the army? He was willing to put himself out there, but he also struggled with a bit of lust and stubbornness. 

We find him digging his heels in when he wanted a particular wife - Timnah, a Philistine woman - from the people of the land that God had specifically told the Israelite people not to choose as a mate. He demanded his parents secure her for him because 'she looked good to him'. What we don't realize sometimes is how God can take our stubborn rebellion and work good from the wrong we have chosen. You see, it was Timnah that gave Samson an inroad into the Philistine territory. That simple 'inroad' would be their undoing, but you'd never know it from Samson's attitude toward getting 'his bride'. It appeared he struggled a bit with pride, lust, and rebellion - just like the rest of us.

Even though he had great faith, he struggled to resist the temptations around him. He saw the Philistine land and desired it. He beheld the beauty of the Philistine woman and demanded it her as his own. He found his bride, but did he know her alluring traits would become his undoing? Sin is like that for us - it presents as 'really good' and 'something we must have', then before long the tide turns. What once seemed so alluring becomes the very thing that leaves us powerless and blind! If you don't know the story, it was Delilah that actually took Samson's strength. His lust became her 'power' and it ended up in him compromising one too many times, leaving him with eyes gouged out and humiliated at the hands of the Philistines.

We can be very 'strong' in some ways, full of courage and moxie, but when our heart begins to desire the things God has clearly told us to not 'intermingle' with in life, we place ourselves in some very compromising situations that can leave us 'blind' and 'weak'. What may seem to be 'unbeatable strength' may just be our own stubborn streak making a way for us into compromise. Temptation is hard to resist when we are 'heck-bent' on getting our own way! Just sayin!