Temptation is a lie. It’s always a lie.
It’s a lie that something will be good when it won’t be.
When I was a little kid back in the late 60’s, I remember hearing about teenagers on acid trips. Sometimes they would think they could fly, then jump off balconies to their death.
Temptation is like acid. When under the influence of temptation, your mind is wacked.
I read in the paper about a police officer who was arrested. The report said that he was caught in a store dressing room, looking under the little wall at a woman in the next booth. Now he’s lost his job, faces criminal charges, and public ridicule.
What on earth made him think that was good idea? Temptation.
I know a guy who has left his wife for a younger woman. That younger woman, by the way, is no prize. But he thinks she is. He has left the “wife of his youth,” and his innocent little children. He has devastated his family. He has brought shame to himself, and as a well-known Christian man and church worker, he has made it more difficult for some to believe in God.
His mind is twisted. His life is a wreck. But somehow he thinks it is worth it. He has sacrificed all of that to be with this woman. He is deceived, and believing it to his own peril.
These examples are drastic. They are the end result of years of little temptations, little deceptions.
Honestly, what is your current temptation? What boundary are you thinking about crossing? Remember, temptation is a lie.
Sometimes we think, “Oh, temptation. That’s something good that God won’t let me have.”
That’s another lie right there!
Temptation is evil and powerful. You never toy with it.
I’m thinking of a young engaged couple. They want to know how far they can go and still be O.K. They want to know exactly where that boundary line is, so they can get as close to it as possible.
That is faulty thinking.
Think of football, a field goal kicker. He aims for the middle. He never tries to see how close to the goal post he can cut it.
In life we need to aim for the center, which means lining ourselves up with what is right and what is good.
If you are feeling tempted today, stop.
And it will probably help to remember this: Temptation is a lie.
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