Choosing to say, “NO!”

In every house I’ve lived, sooner or later, we have to deal with pests. We’ve battled everything from snakes to bats, all looking to make a home with us. But of course, the most common little irritating critter has been the mouse. Unfortunately for him, but thankfully for us, this creature’s downfall is almost always its palate. I can drop a tidbit of something savory onto a trap and be confident that it will seduce and then allow me to eliminate any rodent within sniffing distance. What dumb little critters they are to let the growling in their stomachs obliterate their ability to discern their impending destruction.

But stupidity also perches at the very top of the predatory chain. Depending on what my mind, emotions or body is craving, I easily ignore or minimize the potential consequences of my choices. The enticement is called temptation. And its allurement defies my rational thought and spiritual values. My feelings don’t actually catch up with what’s truly at stake until I taste the bait and experience the pain of the sprung trap. And even then I don’t always learn the lesson.

For those who are not sure where temptation leads, the Bible is clear: “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death”  (James 1:14-15 NLT).

Yikes! It’s the starting point of a very nasty ending. And for all those who care about what God thinks, it is nothing to mess around with. For a Jesus follower, it’s vital to recognize what tempts me to disobey God and wisely install defenses against such deadly enticements. 

Fight It!

Jesus urged His followers to take radical preventative steps, saying we should identify the sources of our temptations and sin and gouge them out or slice them off (Matthew 5:29-30). He metaphorically speaks of our eyes and our hands as being the causes, but of course we all know that our physical body parts are not where temptations begin. They take root somewhere deep within, among our insecurities and fears, and they only use our body parts to accomplish their purpose—our destruction. Jesus says don’t coddle any of it. Find their points of supply and their triggers and cut them off.

To make matters even more difficult, we have a spiritual enemy who uses temptation quite skillfully to accomplish his goals. Satan is also known as the Tempter. He has observed our habits and weaknesses enough to know exactly where each of us are vulnerable. His suggestions and urgings always promise relief, comfort and a way out of difficult situations but at the cost of compromising or breaking covenant and fellowship with God. We are instructed to resist him. But how?

Jesus, Our Example

Temptation is so common for all people, it’s considered part of the human condition. The Bible tells us that although Jesus was God in human flesh, He was still tempted in every way. And yet He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). This is good news! It tells us that just because we experience temptation does not necessarily mean we have sinned (read post on “the Problem”). It most certainly means each of us are human. But Jesus provides guidance for how a human who is committed to honor and love God is to respond when the flesh demands to take control and be satisfied regardless the cost.

The Bible tells us that the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). After not eating for 40 days, Satan said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” What’s so bad about that? What was the real temptation here? I don’t think we’re being told that it’s wrong to eat when we’re hungry. Jesus’ response, however, gives a clue. His comeback is, “No, the scriptures say, ‘people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 from the Old Testament.

Jesus recognized what Satan was trying to do. It was His submission to the Spirit of God that had led Him into the wilderness and into a time of fasting. The enemy, on the other hand, was enticing Jesus to draw His strength, energy and purpose from physical stuff that He could control rather than from relationship with the Father through the Holy Spirit. For performing a simple trick, Jesus was offered immediate relief and satisfaction in His physical body along with personal assurance that He was the powerful Son of God . Instead, Jesus chose the longer route to comfort and relief. He reminded Satan and Himself where His true, long-term strength came from—obedience to and fellowship with the Father.

What does this mean for us?

Temptations of the flesh can be so powerful. They urge us to prioritize the immediate fulfillment of our mental, emotional and physical desires and needs over what God has already told us (read post on Gluttony). The pathway to satisfaction looks and feels so clear in the moment of temptation. The voice sounds so rational: “Yes, I will have to minimize or completely ignore some of the things God has spoken to me, but surely He too wants me to find relief in this situation. God in His love for me will surely understand that I need this to feel okay.”

Such temptations exalt our personal feelings and perspective as the final judge of what’s good for us above the word of God already given. Jesus cut right to the heart of it: His nourishment for life came from what God said to Him. He proclaimed this with His actions. We must meditate on and nourish our souls with what He has shown us here so we can be ready when Satan or even our own desires seek to ensnare us.

The trap is usually baited with the promise of comfort, security, control, excitement, enriched ego or feeling more alive. And it may take the form of food, entertainment, porn, unhindered sexual expression, self-pity, approval from others, “putting others in their place,” workaholism, or any other indulgence that offers relief, satisfaction, or self expression apart from God’s loving word. But the end is always the same. We accept the enticement, and sooner or later the triple hammer of guilt,  shame and confusion pin us to the ground.

And the Bible is clear: it does NOT lead to life.

But fleshly temptations need not always defeat a follower of Jesus. It depends on how badly we want to overcome them. If we are ready to cut off the sources of temptation or invite a new level of accountability into our lives, things can change. Temptation does not have to automatically equal defeat. WE DON’T HAVE TO TAKE THE BAIT!

You can say and continue to say, “NO!” Jesus wants to show you how.

Response:

• To which temptations of the flesh am I most vulnerable? Stimulation of my body? Stimulation of my emotions? Or, stimulation of my mind? Where do I end up when I give in to them?
• Jesus quoted scripture when He was tempted. How prepared am I to fight temptation the way He did? What do I need to do to better arm myself?
• Who can I let into my life that can provide accountability for how I respond to fleshly temptations?
• How much do I really believe God to be my source of comfort and satisfaction? What can I do to begin to get these needs met by Him?
• Jesus, how do you want to meet the deep desires of my heart?

(Edited and reposted from March 9, 2020)