I heard a famous preacher named TD Jakes making some remarks recently on the subject of temptation which I thought were brilliant. What follows is a mish mash of his thoughts and mine. I like to think of my keen mind as a car wash. It’s an idea laundering operation.
Anyways, TD Jakes reminds me of Chewbacca from Star Wars. But that is in no way relevant to anything I’m going to say.
This is basically the line the serpent used on Eve
Here’s a menu, cuz this thing got long again. So much brilliant Truth here.
- GOD DOESN’T LEAD ANYONE INTO TEMPTATION
- PEOPLE ARE IN CHARGE OF EARTH, NOT GOD
- THERE’S NO DELIVERANCE FROM TEMPTATION
- FEELINGS: ‘BORN THIS WAY’
- THE TYRANNY OF TEMPTATION
- BEING RESCUED FROM AN ENEMY THAT IS FLEEING
- RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE; IT IS HUMBLE
- FASTING IS A LIVE FIRE DRILL FOR TEMPTATION
A lot of people will be familiar with this excerpt from the Lord’s Prayer:
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:13 ESV
1. GOD DOESN’T LEAD ANYONE INTO TEMPTATION
Now, this is how most people remember the saying, but my problem is that it makes it sound like the good Lord is likely to make us do something wicked unless we politely entreat him to not do so.
Lead us not into… But, of course, God being good doesn’t lead anyone anywhere except in the footsteps of pure goodness and benevolence.
Here’s the same verse in another popular translation:
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:13 NLT
I think this communicates the point better. Rather than “lead us not into stupidity,” it’s more accurately “don’t let us do anything stupid.”
That’s one thing I noticed in the Bible that can be confusing, depending on the translation. A lot of stuff will read like “God made so and so do something evil,” or “God made some really heinous crap happen to the whateverites.”
But, the reality is that God doesn’t do, or cause to be done, anything that is bad, evil, or tragic. But He does allow these things to happen. He doesn’t make people do bad things, or make bad things happen, but he does let them happen.
The reason, of course – for the thinking man, and not the victim-minded dummkopf who blames God for everything – is that the universe operates by and is kept in order by things called laws.
God controls the laws. You control your respect or disregard for them.
Gravity, the classic example, can be lethal – tragic – for the moron who thinks he can flap his arms and fly off the Eiffel Tower. God would allow this, but He certainly wouldn’t cause or condone it.
But, heh, I’m just too damn rational. A lot of the victim-minded folks will either blame God for everything or just deny His existence altogether.
And probably vote Democrat.
But all that really doesn’t have much to do with temptation except insofar as a temptation is an invitation for you to break one or more of God’s laws and eventually suffer the consequences for it.
I think of the time lag between disregard and disaster as the grace of God.
Sort of like you don’t pay your rent on time you got a grace period before you start gettin late fees and, eventually, evicted.
So, God doesn’t lead anyone into temptation. So, by praying that God wouldn’t let you be tempted enough to do something stupid you are simply and humbly acknowledging your human weakness and propensity for stupidity and entreating God to actively assist you in withstanding said temptations.
2. PEOPLE ARE IN CHARGE OF EARTH, NOT GOD
The thing about planet earth that I don’t think a lot of folk understand – and why they see God as this arbitrarily menacing figure – is this:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26 ESV
“Dominion” just means that we’re in charge. God gave us the gift of earth, and then He gave us the responsibility of earth.
And God does not micromanage.
We got the free will to make choices. But God ain’t gonna make our choices for us.
He will, however, warn us in some fashion, if we’re goin the wrong way. In one of my Principles of Prevail I state that nothing bad has ever happened to me that I couldn’t have avoided by heeding a warning.
Authority is itself a law. That is, if we’re in charge down here, then God ain’t gonna bypass that authority or override it. He’d be violating that law – call it the Law of Dominion, if you will – which He set in place when He made earth, then made us to manage earth.
Now this is why prayer matters. Because it’s what allows God to intervene down here. He can’t intervene without our permission. We’re in charge, so if we want Him to help out then we’ve got to ask. He’s no bully. But He’s no absentee Creator either.
What the hell was the point of this thing again?
Oh, right, temptation.
3. THERE’S NO DELIVERANCE FROM TEMPTATION
As far as the prayer’s concerned, you’re askin for God’s empowering assistance in withstanding the temptation.
But, the point that Mr. Jakes had mentioned was the fact that the verse states “lead us not into temptation” – or “don’t let us give in to temptation” – and deliver us from evil.
In other words, you can get delivered from evil, but you’ll never get delivered from temptation.
Because, he said, if you were to get delivered from temptation then it wouldn’t be temptation.
I thought that was a brilliant point. And, really, it’s temptation that makes character possible. Because without a reason to deny yourself, you’d never have a reason to discipline yourself.
At every moment of the day I face temptation. I’m tempted to sleep in. Tempted to skip a workout. Tempted to not study and learn the information I need to succeed. Tempted to not implement that information. Tempted to kill people who piss me off. Tempted by hot chicks who bend over at the grocery store.
And so it goes.
Really, I think temptation is a gift. Yes, a gift! Just as fear is a gift.
People whine about adversity. They whine about things that they should really view as opportunities to demonstrate how kick ass they are.
Another of my Principles of Prevail is that your self-esteem is equal to your self-discipline.
In heaven you will not need discipline or character. Heaven’s just the payoff for it. People are not equal in heaven cuz people were not equally disciplined on earth.
The main point is that you need to understand the simple fact that temptation will never ever leave you. It’s always there, testing you, and constantly changing form.
Another thing you should understand is that we are all more susceptible to different temptations than others. Some people have more trouble saying no to donuts. Others have more trouble saying no to transsexual bus drivers. And so on. Whatever.
Another thing that’s important to understand is that feelings are not inherently legitimate. You are not what you feel.
Another of my Principles of Prevail states that feelings follow and principles lead. That is, you have to dictate to your feelings.
Unfortunately, most people think that because they feel a certain way then that means they must act a certain way. That they must honor their feelings.
This couldn’t be farther from the truth. This is why you have an epidemic nowadays of this deceptive philosophy of “tolerance” where people who are afflicted by various temptations surrender any effort to resist those temptations and, instead, they go to the other extreme and attempt to legtimize their temptations…feelings
They bow down to the power of temptation and worship it.
And probably vote Democrat.
That’s what I call the “born this way” excuse.
Look folks, “born this way” is the whole concept of original sin. We’re all born sinful and selfish and we have to learn what is right and then discipline ourselves to do what is right.
I mean, how many parents let their kids use the “born this way” excuse to get off the hook for lying or stealing not cleaning their room, etc?
But, if you don’t believe in God then you don’t believe in the power of God. Which means that you will bow to the power of temptation. You won’t have a good reason to resist temptation or to deny yourself the temporary gratification of temptation.
Cuz, let’s face it, temptation feels natural. But so does killing people who piss me off.
One problem I see is that some temptations like homosexuality, for example, are stigmatized more than other temptations. Or, some temptations like gluttony are easier for observers to judge since the resulting obesity is so easy to see.
But one of the greatest temptations is pride and being judgmental. This means thinking that your righteousness is superior to that of others.
This doesn’t mean that you should tolerate or indulge people’s various temptations.
Being judgmental is minimizing your own weaknesses while maximizing others. It’s thinkin that your holiness is superior to others. Holier than thou syndrome.
But the flip side of that is these jackasses who will call you judgmental and “intolerant” for even daring to point out moral truths and for suggesting that what they’re doing may be wrong.
If you care about others, it is the pinnacle of compassion to warn them if they’re doing wrong. Cuz there will be consequences eventually. A law is being violated.
You will never be free of temptation. You will always be tempted.
Therefore, you will have to always pursue self-discipline. Temptation is what makes maturity possible. Without temptation the concept of character could not exist, just as without fear the concept of courage could not exist.
I have another Principle of Prevail which states that temptation is fear disguised as desire.
Temptation makes you afraid to ignore it. You feel that if you do not gratify its tyrannical demands that it will continue to plague you.
Temptation is fear. But it masquerades as stuff you think you want. Stuff you feel.
Temptation will go away tho. It comes and goes in waves. And in variety. One minute it’s some clown cuttin you off on the freeway. Next minute it’s some chick who needs way too much attention.
But if you resist temptation, the feeling will pass. Remember, feelings follow. Feelings follow, and principles lead. You have to dictate to your feelings and then stand strong. Eventually the feeling of the temptation will pass.
It’s really like that with any situation and with any adversity.
Consider: If you are sick, you aren’t sick – you just feel sick. Or some doc has told you that you are sick and is attempting to make his judgement that of God’s in your mind. You are tempted to accept that sickness. To surrender to it.
But, clearly sickness is antithetical to God’s will for your health. So you tell that sickness to go to hell. You keep repeatin that mantra, or variations thereof. You stand strong. And eventually you prevail. The sickness passes.
I don’t care if it’s cancer, mad cow disease, or whatever.
I would define temptation as a thought or feeling that is opposed to God’s will. I would define God’s will as whatever the Bible says.
Fear is a temptation. Really, all temptation is fear. Your feelings scare you into obeying them.
That’s really the point of the Bible, if you think about it. Without it we would have no concrete objective source of Truth with which to combat the whimsical churning tides of our emotions and feelings.
I mean, if I had to do whatever my feelings told me to do, you know what a lunatic I would be?
Oh wait, I’m just “born that way.”
6. BEING RESCUED FROM AN ENEMY THAT IS FLEEING
Even when you love doin somethin you still don’t always feel like it. I like rhyming, but I don’t always like practicing my delivery. That can get a little repetitious and boring.
Even with things – and people – you love there’s going to be a discipline involved.
I think this is why so many people view Hollywood as a psycho ward. Cuz these folks are being paid millions to indulge their feelings. It’s like one temptation to the power of another temptation; exponential temptation.
There’s another verse on temptation which is interesting, and I never thought of it before in combination with the previous one I quoted. I’ll quote the first one again, followed by the other one:
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:13 NLT
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 NLT
I thought of this second verse cuz the first one is a prayer asking God to rescue or deliver us from evil. But then in the second verse it states that if you resist the devil – evil incarnate – that the devil will flee.
One asks to be rescued from what the other one states will run away.
In other words, by resisting temptation you will cause the evil influence to leave.
And this is true. When you’re tempted you always feel like you’ve got to give the temptation what it wants so that you don’t have to suffer it. But if you do resist it eventually it goes away. You’ll be tested again, but it’s not like an electrical current that never shuts off.
More like a pendulum that you gotta quit pushin, and eventually it will quit swingin.
7. RESISTANCE IS NOT FUTILE; IT IS HUMBLE
Also in the surrounding verses to James 4:7 can be found the procedure by which to successfully repulse a wave of temptation. And, like any competent general, the battle is won before it begins.
This is why another Principle of Prevail states that fighting is for losers. Losers don’t know the path to victory. They may win, or they may not. Sun Tzu said essentially the same thing in The Art of War.
Here’s James 4:7 in context…you know what? Screw it, here’s all of James 4. The whole thing is packed to the gills with really vital points pertaining to this subject:
1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you?
2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it.
3 And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure.
4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you can’t be a friend of God.
5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful?
6 He gives us more and more strength to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.”
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites.
9 Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
10 When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.
11 Don’t speak evil against each other, my dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize each other and condemn each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God’s law. But you are not a judge who can decide whether the law is right or wrong. Your job is to obey it.
12 God alone, who made the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your neighbor?
13 Look here, you people who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”
14 How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
16 Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.
17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.James 4:1-17 NLT
Alright, I bolded some key points, altho this whole passage is really loaded with wisdom. I suppose that’s why it’s in the Bible.
But my summary of it is as follows: The way to overcome temptation is to first humbly acknowledge your weak and sinful human nature to God so that He will be able to empower you to withstand temptation when it occurs, thereby causing the temptation to eventually leave.
But, if you are judgmental of others and more focused on how they are living their lives then on how you are living your own life then your pride will make you more susceptible to temptation. Ironically.
As the rapper Guru from Gangstarr put it in a song – I think it was You Know My Steez:
It’s often easier to give advice
than it is for a person to run one’s own life
“God resists the proud” means that “God doesn’t assist the proud,” meaning that you will fall to temptation in the absence of His empowering assistance. Because you won’t fully and honestly acknowledge your need of assistance.
Others need assistance. But never you.
In other words, you do what you know is right and don’t sit around judging how others act.
Obviously, we have to make moral judgments about the actions of others, but we don’t have to fixate on them at the expense of our own humility and honesty with regards to our own weaknesses.
This is why another Principle of Prevail advocates the evaluation of merit over motive. That is, evaluate the merits of people’s words and deeds, but don’t evaluate their motives. Unless, of course, they state their motives.
It is impossible to be humble without being honest. You could even say that humility is a discipline. It is a disciplined thought process.
Those who reject dependence on God must then embrace dependency on their feelings, empowering their temptations.
So, to withstand temptation, you must prepare beforehand by admitting your weaknesses, past sins, and points of temptation to God and asking for His assistance in withstanding future temptations.
The key here, my friend, is honesty. I don’t think a lot of people even have the balls to admit to God – WHO ALREADY KNOWS, GENIUS – what their weaknesses and sins are.
Hell, I don’t think most people will admit that to themselves.
One huge, huge test of your honesty is how you recover from failure and disaster. If you’re honest, you’ll bounce back fast. If you’re dishonest, you may never recover cuz you’ll never admit your mistakes. You’ll play the victim.
One thing I tell myself when tempted is, “it’s just a feeling.” It’s just a feeling. It’s just a feeling. It’s not real. It’s not real.
But feelings feel real. It’s a battle of your spiritual, or mental, knowledge versus your physical feelings.
You must win that battle.
I even view pain as a temptation. It hurts, but it’s a feeling. Pain can be endured. It’s just a feeling.
Time itself changes nothing. But with time things will pass if you stand firm. You could think of time as simply a gauge of your success. Time reveals results.
You will never master temptation. Anytime that you think you have mastered temptation is when you will fall to it.
The reason you never master it is because you’ll simply keep moving from one level of difficulty to the next as you get stronger. Mastery is pursuit – another Principle.
You never ever master anything. That is pride to think so.
8. FASTING IS A LIVE FIRE DRILL FOR TEMPTATION
Almost forgot another brilliant point that the Bishop, TD Jakes made. Almost called him “Reverend” but guys like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have ruined that title.
Now, when I think of the word “Reverend” I picture a bunch of delinquents yelling “FIRE!” in a crowded theatre.
But Jakes made the point that the fasting – self denial – is something you do to prepare yourself to repulse temptation.
In other words, to quote Sean Hannity (he always says “in other words”), when you practice self-denial you’re practicing temptation. You’re running your own live fire drills.
Generally you think of fasting as fasting food, but you can fast anything you really don’t want to give up. But intentionally denying yourself what you want is a way to create the circumstances of a temptation and to practice resisting it.
I’ve never ever heard fasting described that way before. Absolutely brilliant. Cuz I always thought fasting was a waste of time. Never made any sense to it. Never saw the point.
The irony, however, is that I’m always fasting. I just didn’t realize it.
Anytime I discipline myself to do something it requires me to deny myself. This is basically what fasting is.
For example, I like to workout, run, and eat right. Now, I say “like” insofar as I like the results of these disciplines. I like being in shape, and looking good.
Every time I run I am fasting time I could be spending on the couch. Every time I eat I am fasting the crap I could be eating, and the amounts I could be eating it in.
So, anyone who lives any kind of disciplined lifestyle will be fasting on a regular basis.
The very notion of self-discipline is itself some kind of fast. It’s self-denial.
But the whole notion of fasting as preparation was a really brilliant one made by Mr. Jakes.
When two fighters are going to get in the ring, their training period is basically a fast. They deny themselves for the glory that awaits them in the ring.
That is why there is no such thing as an overnight success. You just didn’t witness the “fast,” if you will. The period of self-denial and discipline required to bring a product to market or succeed as an actor or recording artist. No one sees that stuff. They just see the glory. They just see the results.
In order to achieve greatness you will have to overcome temptation.
You think about it, the greater your goal the greater the discipline that will be required which means, by default, the greater the temptation you will voluntarily subject yourself to. Cuz if you lowered your aim, your level of temptation would decrease.
It occurs to me as well that the higher you rise the more the cracks in your character will be exposed, because the greater the temptations will be. This is why you see some people who achieve great success in some area and then self-destruct.
If you don’ t self-discipline you will self-destruct.
To quote one of my rhymes, I believe it’s Invigoratin:
you can put your life in a vice
if you don’t put a vice on your life
You know the old saying: Talent gets you in the door, but character keeps you there.
Temptation is the only way you will develop character and be a kick ass person. There is no other way. No shortcut.
And to repeat what TD Jakes said, you will never be delivered from temptation. You will always be tested in life. To be tempted is to be tested.
I think a great way to combat temptation is to establish goals that require you to self-discipline and self-deny. This gets you used to the feeling of self-denial so that temptation does not feel overwhelming.
It’s training. Fasting is a live fire drill for temptation. Fasting is simulating temptation.
Anytime I create a goal I create a temptation. Think about it. I’ve got a goal to run six miles in 36 minutes, and one mile in five minutes. Right from the start I’ve got the temptation to quit. Every time I run I will be tempted to minimize my effort.
I think it’s important to find a reason to discipline yourself even when you don’t have to.
I’ve always found it interesting that leaders in business and government with a lot on their plates can still find the time to workout and run and do other stuff besides work. Even Presidents of the United States.
Sarah Palin was in Iowa for a Tea Party rally on September 4th, and found the time to run a half marathon – I’m guessin that’s 13 miles – finishing second for her age group, in 1:46:10. This means that she finds the time to do a lot of running.
Which means she’s a very disciplined individual.
I’ve noticed this with very successful people – that they accomplish more in one day than most people do in a week. Cuz they’re more disciplined.
It inspires me.
That’s about it for me. Let me reiterate: You will never be delivered from temptation. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a temptation. Temptation is a gift. Like fear. It gives you an excuse to kick some ass.
Somethin else occurred to me from that passage in James. But I’ll put that in a separate DATA entry.
I hadn’t intended this one to be this long. But if you actually made it this far then consider yourself blessed – and a true respecter of simple, pure, crystalline Truth. This information will greatly empower you.
The irony is that the increase in knowledge is accompanied by an increase in temptation. So in writing about temptation here I have actually served to increase your temptation.
Let me add this about the concept of fasting, in closing: Fasting does not defeat the devil; it defeats you.
That is to say that you resist the devil and he flees, but you are only able to resist because you are willing and strong enough to deny yourself.
Therefore:
Fasting (self-denial and self-discipline) is a weapon that can only be used on yourself.
Which is supported by this verse as well:
It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
Proverbs 16:32 NLT
Why? Because it’s a helluva lot harder to conquer yourself than to conquer a city. The devil ain’t your real problem.
I have a Principle of Prevail which states that patience is perfect. This is because patience does not act prematurely based on feelings. It is perfectly timed. Perfectly disciplined. To be patient requires self-denial.
You can either be in denial or self-denial.
Do not fear temptation. Embrace it. It’s a gift. Use it as a training tool, like a weight to a weight lifter.
Employ fasting, or a goal requiring self-discipline, to simulate temptation in order to proactively attack temptation rather than awaiting it’s arrival with anxiety.
Besides, think of all the time you’re losing to indulging temptation. Discipline frees up your schedule.