Temptation is the enticement to do something wrong or unwise. It is a seduction process that lures, attracts, draws and leads people to the commitment of sin. Failure to run away from temptation leads to the actual physical act of sin. Temptation is thus the gateway to sin.
sundayword BY PROSPER TINGINI
Sin is the transgression of divine or moral law, mostly committed consciously. It is an offence against principle or standard. To sin is to make an error, to commit a crime, to do evil, an act of ungodliness culminating in an act of iniquity. Temptation and sin always operate hand in hand. Succumbing to temptation results in an act of sin.
Temptation first reared its head right at the creation of mankind. The first two biblically recorded human beings, Adam and Eve, were tempted by a serpent to eat of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3 verses 1-7). Temptation always comes with some elements of sweetness attached to it, to lure and attract people to give in. It promises pleasure, gratification, delight etc., all leading to acts of sin. In the case of Adam and Eve, the serpent promised the couple that the forbidden fruit was in fact the fruit of knowledge and that when they ate of it “their eyes will be opened, and they will be like God, knowing good and evil”, (Genesis 3:5). Am sure most of us would have succumbed to that kind of promise, to be like God. It was a temptation not to be missed, hence Adam and Eve were caught hook, line and sinker.
The only sensible way to react when faced with whatever pleasant-looking temptations is to do one thing, i.e run-away. No matter how cowardly it might sound, the solution is to run-away. To run away will need an effort, to resist the pleasures. We have to put pressure on ourselves to resist the temptations. It won’t just happen, it requires effort.
Temptation comes in various forms. It can be physical in nature, or of moral nature, or of emotional involvement. Stealing, murder, committing adultery are more on the physical side of things and less emotional. People offending you, insulting you, hurting you, etc often triggers emotional reactions. These reactions might then cause you to act in ways that can cause damage either to others or yourself. Emotions can damage relationships, create enmity and attract the temptations to commit sins in retaliation. When faced with such situations, the best way is to remove yourself from the scene i.e to run away. Only later can resolutions, if any, be sought. Prevention is better than cure, so says the old adage.
Jesus Christ our Lord was very good at slipping away when faced with insults. In one example, He and the disciples were challenged by the Pharisees (Matthew 12: 1-14). Jesus’ reaction was very simple, as the next verse (15) reads; “Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there”.
In Luke:4, we have the story of Jesus Christ being tempted by the devil, hungry after spending 40 days on the mountain in prayer. After rejecting three of the devil’s temptations, what happened? verse 13 reads; “when the devil had ended every temptation, he (the devil) departed from him until an opportune time”. It shows that even the devil himself employs the same tactics/methods — he departs (runs away) from those bold enough to reject him, but only after making sustained efforts to seduce.
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If you stay in the vicinity of a temptation, it will eventually consume you. The best way to avoid it is to remove yourself from the situation unless the temptation (or devil) removes itself and departs first. Great men of God and even kings have fallen prey to temptations. The Bible has the story King David’s lust for someone else’s wife (adultery). The second book of Samuel, chapters 11 and 12 tells the story of how King David cunningly devised a plan to have Uriah, the husband of his object for desire, Bathsheba, killed on the battlefront. His lust to pleasure himself with someone’s wife led him into the temptation of killing the husband (murder). He could have just pleasured himself without killing the husband, but alas, he wanted to take the wife for himself. He went on from committing adultery to murder (sin), as a result of a failure to resist temptation. God was very angered by his transgression and punished him severely (read II Samuel 12: 11-15).
Most temptations can be overcome if only we can put a little effort to it. Sometimes we regret our actions just because we choose to make easier options or seek immediate solutions to problems facing us. We come across some tests in our lives which we either have to fight to achieve better results or seek an immediate easy way out to satisfy an immediate need, at the loss of something valuable. We sometimes surrender precious things just because we give in easily to temptation.
A classic example of losing value to temptation is the case of Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25: 27-34). One day Esau came from the fields (hunting) and he was very hungry. He asked for food which his twin brother, Jacob, was cooking. Jacob answered him, “First sell me your birthright (first born)”. Esau, who just wanted the immediate need to suppress his hunger replied, “I am about to die, of what use is a birthright?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first”.
So he (Esau) swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob (for a single meal). Hunger tempted Esau such that instead of fighting it, he chose the quickest and easiest way out and at a very huge cost. Esau lost his birth-right, his inheritance and also lost God’s favour in the process. He never bothered to resist the simple test of hunger, as a temptation, yet he was a born hunter. He lost everything.
Sins are a result of human failure to fight temptations, failure to run away from seductions. All acts of ungodliness emanate from the choices we make when faced with temptations. The sweet sounds of temptations are the tools of the devil himself, which are dangled upon mankind to make us commit acts of sin. Temptation always proceeds sins. Our ability to fight off temptations determines our ability to resist sin. Temptation is thus a far greater evil than the sin itself. It is the incarnation of Satan. God sometimes allows the devil to tempt us in order to test our faith and trust in Him. Let’s fight it with all our might so as to defeat it. Alternatively, let us just put efforts to run away from all temptations, so that we can come out clean. To move away from temptations, we have to put pressure on ourselves, to depart. A sustained effort can conquer everything.
Prosper Tingini would like to invite interested individuals, well-wishers, church organisations, donors and people from all walks of life to assist or form partnerships in establishing training centres across the country for pastors and priests. These training centres would be interdenominational (non-aligned). Those interested can phone or WhatsApp on 0771 260 195 or email: [email protected]
