What's tempting you?

What has been tempting you?

Many of us start the New Year with resolutions to do this, or stop doing that. By the 3rd week of January we’re lucky if we remember what we resolved.

Lent often also has a resolution type of mentality for some people. Giving up chocolate, getting up early to exercise as a means of penitential time for reflection and whatever other rationale we give it…and like our New Year resolutions, we often fail to stick to the plan we set out on Ash Wednesday.

We’re 10 days into the season of Lent…what has been tempting you?

For some people the act of giving something up during Lent is an exercise to remind them of Jesus temptation by the devil after his 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted by the devil to end his hunger by turning stones to bread, to test God by throwing himself down from the top of the temple, and with power and dominion in exchange for Jesus’ worship. (Matthew 4:1-11) Jesus’ denied the tempter and cast Satan away. And when He did, the devil left and the angels came and began to minister to Him. (v. 11).

Depending on what you set about to give up, or take on as the case may be, this week of delightfully unseasonably warm weather may have been helpful, or not. In either case, an early few days of 60 degree weather tempts us to forget that we are still in the season of winter. Yes, we are! Tomorrow is the first day of spring. Guess what the weather forecasters are saying? Snow!

You’ve been tempted into wearing those t-shirts and shorts. You’ve been tempted to put away those bulky winter coats. But Spring is not yet here! Even if the calendar marks the beginning of Spring, the weather report looks like winter still has a toe-hold.

Which just goes to show you that we can easily be tempted into thinking about things in the wrong way for today just because we’ve seen a glimpse of the ways we want things to be.

Lent calls us to reflect upon the way God wants us to be in relationship with Him each and every day…days when we screw up and days when we get it right, at times when we are desperate and lonely and times when we are joyous and reach out to others in love. He wants us ALL. When we give ALL of ourselves to Him, He will help us resist the tempter, and all his temptations.

He will give us strength for every day…not just the days of Lent.

What's tempting you?

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Slippery Slopes

If you ski or snowboard, you love the snow and avoid the ice.

When you drive, snow will raise your caution quotient; ice might make you abandon the trip.

So why do so many of us not run the other way when faced with the slippery slopes of temptation? I think many times we think we can navigate safely and avoid the fall. How foolish we are.

What kind of slippery slope am I talking about? The same kind that ultimately sinks politicians, catches married men or women in adultery, and lands your neighbor in jail for drunk driving. It begins with simple things and small temptations.

I think most of us know the kinds of things that tempt us: food, alcohol, a few extra bucks, seductively dressed people of the opposite sex, wanting that flat screen TV like your friend has, a few extra minutes of sleep, etc. We also know what happens when we give in to those temptations: extra pounds, a hang over, working too many hours at the expense of our families, shallow relationships, unnecessary debt, being late for work, etc.

Our lives are bombarded by temptations. While it might seem like falling victim to those little temptations is not such a big deal, it is the culmination of many little slip ups that can send us crashing down the mountain on a sheet of ice.

“Well, it’s just a little ice cream.” 10 years, 50 lbs. and a health crisis later your little bit of ice cream every day after dinner was the start of your slippery slope.

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to look.” Too many surreptitious glances, one suggestive conversation, a harried spouse at home who might not have been taking care of his or herself or giving you the attention you desire, and a no-one-will-know-me-here-while-I’m-out-of-town liaison can end you up in divorce court.

We all fall victim to the things that tempt us at some point. Many times we end up sliding along the ice toward disaster. What can we do about it?

God gives us a lot of tools to help us deal with the temptations of our lives.

God gives us the Bible. The Bible is a guidebook for steering clear of icy patches and an instruction manual for recovering from a fall.

God gives us Jesus and Holy Communion. Jesus is the grappling hook lifeline that can stop our slippery descent. When we know we’ve stepped onto the ice and start to slide, it is Jesus who throws us the lifeline and can pull us back to safety. We just need to look around for the rope.

God gives us friends. Not those so-called friends who will laugh at us if we fall, but those in our faith community who will point out the icy patches and support us as we recover if we should fall.

God gives us prayer. Through prayer we separate ourselves from the world for a moment so that we can focus on our relationship with God. Being in relationship with God gives us roots to withstand the tempests of temptation that try to rip us away from that relationship.

Paul writes about temptation in 1Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you will be able to endure it.”

God is faithful. He will not leave us at the bottom of that slippery slope. We are children of God. But wouldn’t it be better not to stray so close to that slippery edge? Use the tools we’ve been given.

Lord, help us to avoid the little temptations as well as the big ones. Guide us away from the things that will propel us down a slippery slope and further away from our relationship with you. Amen.

What do you do to avoid the temptations of your life?

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