7 PAX gathered for a little sharpening session at Bruegger’s. I wanted to keep it light today…so let’s talk about temptation.
I have been reading through the book of James over the last few days and have been challenged by what this guy wrote 2 millennia ago. I love how pointed it is. It just seems to have a tangible relevance that can be sometimes hard to find in the Bible. For a dunce like me, the blunt nature of James’ writing is easy to comprehend. Two things stood out to me.
Temptation
Why do New Year’s Resolutions so often fail? I asked the guys if any one of them routinely set New Year’s Resolutions and they all smirked and shrugged. No, of course they don’t. These resolutions are easy to blow off because too often there is no real commitment behind what we intend to do. As soon as the first real temptation to quit hits us, we just fold and regress back to what we want to do. The “New Year” just gives us an arbitrary starting point for a change that we wish we could happen with no real effort required. But it rarely works out, right?
That is just one example of how temptation can stunt our growth. We have to be willing to fight temptation on a continual basis in order to grow in our faith, in wisdom, in patience, in perseverance, and so on. Check this out:
James 1:14-15 – 14 “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Look, it’s our own fault. We give in to temptation because we choose to, not because the “devil made us do it”. Our own evil desire drags us away from what we’re striving to do. And from there, it’s a very scary and very slippery slope. The good news is that we don’t have to give in to that evil desire. We can fight.
So, what are some common temptations we face on a daily basis:
- cheating on our diet
- laziness (a.k.a. fartsacking!!!)
- cutting corners, whether at home or at work
- spending money you don’t have
- prioritizing success or power above more important things (relationships, family, sanity)
- being envious or jealous
- being untruthful (not just lying…omissions count too)
- negative coping (anger, eating, alcohol, smoking, etc.)
- sexual temptation
That’s a nasty list of stuff we have to fight day in and day out.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
That’s a pretty cool statement when you stop and think about it. What’s one way to build muscle? Resistance training. See where I’m going here?
Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those that are being tempted.
This is talking about Jesus. Sometimes I forget the Jesus was fully human, just like me. He was able to resist temptation (because He was without sin), but he still knows the struggle. He still understands what that’s all about. And since he conquered temptation, He is willing to take on our burden and fight alongside us. That’s pretty incredible.
Discuss: what is a big temptation for you in life? No shame here, no judgement! I’m a basket-case myself, so I’m not one to throw stones!
My example: I tend to allow fear to dictate my decisions and behaviors. I have certainly gotten stronger in this regard since joining F3 (along with help from modern medicine – shout out to Wellbutrin!! That’s my homie) Anyway, I’ve always had a fear of failure and a fear of rejection, and for too long in my life I’ve been crippled by that fear. The big temptation I face is to sit idly by as life passes before me. I’ve let so many opportunities slide by me without speaking up simply because I was afraid to put myself out there. I doubt I’m the only one who struggles with this.
So how do we practice fighting temptation?
Accountability
In order to fight your specific temptation, first you need to be willing to actually fight it, then one way to be truly successful is to be accountable for your behavior/thoughts/actions. Just like a New Year’s Resolution – without commitment and action, the intent is meaningless.
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Proverbs 27:17 – As Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
I mean, c’mon. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. If we truly want to grow, we have to be willing to fight to do so. Then we need to be able to rely on our brothers for support. Accountability is not a foreign concept in F3. We are accountable to each other in a physical sense, but why not a spiritual sense? Well, it’s because it’s suuuuuper duuuper uncomfortable to open up and be honest about our struggles. But you have to be willing to get a little uncomfortable in order to grow.
So, with that said, what is something you need to be held accountable to? For me…am I allowing fear to dictate any decisions? Am I running from the truth or allowing myself to be blissfully ignorant (meaning, knowing I need to address something, but instead just acting like it doesn’t exist)? I asked the group this question, here’s what they said:
Some guys want to be held accountable to managing their time better.
Some want to be held accountable to being more patient with their family.
Some want to be held accountable to spending 10 meaningful minutes a day with their M.
Some want to be held accountable to making a meal plan so the M doesn’t have to do everything around the house.
Some want to be held accountable to prioritizing relationships with family while they are still here on this earth.
Some want to be held accountable to setting aside distractions in order to be more productive.
Some want to be held accountable to setting healthy boundaries and not taking on too much.
That’s a lot of words from me today, so I’ll wrap this up. I’ll ask this same question over the next couple of weeks at The Refinery and if anyone wants or needs some accountability, come talk to me. Seriously. I know I can be a goof at times, but I would love nothing more than to spur on my brothers, and to be spurred as well.
Wait…that sounded weird.
See you in the gloom.
Callahan
