We’ve all been there, done that. You know you only have so much money to spend on buying a car, but the salesperson shows you the perfect car, the one you’ve always wanted, but it’s just beyond your budget. The salesperson is good, really good, and makes the car so enticing you sign on the dotted line, drive it off the lot, and then try to figure out how you’re going to explain what you just did to your spouse.
This week, our staff team enjoyed an outing together at the State Fair. It just happened to fall on the same day our elders had set aside for a 24-hour fast—from food. I think they planned it that way. So, there I was, strolling through the State Fair with our group, getting hungrier by the minute while everyone around me was eating. Everywhere we turned, there was another food vendor—the sights, the smells, the endless parade of deep-fried everything was causing me to salivate and palpitate.
You’ve probably been there before. It’s just not fair. (Pun absolutely intended.)
That’s the seductive lure of temptation.
For most of us, temptation slinks rather than shouts. It eases its way in past our comfort zone rather than barging in with a heralded trumpet. The Apostle John calls the lure of temptation “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2:16). James tells us that “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1:14).
Why would I write about temptation? Because it’s real, it’s pervasive, and too often it’s kept hidden. Temptation comes from the shadows, not from the light. It promises satisfaction but delivers suffering. Even when we know there are consequences for succumbing to its seductive lure, at times we lean into the moment rather than run from its grip.
The very first Psalm reminds us of the digression of sin, which, starts by walking through the counsel of the wicked, then stands in the way of sinners, and then sits in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1).
We grow comfortable in the shadows.
But that comfort leads to death.
Throughout Scripture, we are admonished and implored to resist the devil (1 Peter 5:9). The spiritual battle is real, and God provides the armor and weapon to prevail (Ephesians 6:10-17). God will always provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13) along with those who can help us stand firm (Philippians 1:27).
Ultimately, though, the decision is yours. Will you put on the armor of God and wield the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God? Will you call on your family of faith to walk alongside you when your knees are weak and your spirit is failing?
You are not alone. Let others come alongside you and hold you up in prayer, wise counsel, and a call to commitment. Do not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9), but remain faithful in the little things as well as in the big. Faithfulness isn’t flashy, but it bears fruit.
And so, now, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).
