Temptation

The temptation in the desert from the Gospels. Often we focus on the temptations (there are 3) and brush over the first part of the reading which informs us that Jesus was led by the Spirit. He was out in the wilderness for a purpose – he was fasting and praying to prepare himself to pursue his mission with passion.

The first temptation appears to be about physical comfort. He is fasting and therefore is logically hungry. But Jesus is fasting for a reason – remember he was led by the Spirit and is actively preparing himself, upskilling if you like, so he can be ready for the challenges ahead. Beyond the physicality of the ‘temptation’ it is also a distraction. The temptations are distractions from the goal.

Don’t we have this in our daily lives?

We aspire to be the best version of self and off we go to change the world and make it a better place. Then things come along that distract us from our goal to be positive world-changers. Perhaps we get drawn into the other temptations such as to power. There is a saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. How many of us have encountered people who perhaps are or were kind and benevolent to all at one point but with power have narrowed this perspective to a select group of humanity? This is a terrible temptation that seems to change the most people. Power is to be used for good but instead we see these narrow-minded cliques forming that minimize the positive impact.

The other temptation from the devil to Jesus was to test God. I think the contemporary version of this is to try and prove faith in a scientific way. We need to hold true to what is in our heart of hearts and not allow ourselves to be distracted from this core belief.

There are many temptations in life today. Each person is tempted by different things. Temptation usually leads us away from our own moral codes and is almost never a good thing when we give in to it. I can’t think of a time when a temptation has been good. Mostly things are called a temptation when they make us veer off the path that we ourselves have chosen or defined as good, honourable or desired.

So how do we resist? How did Jesus resist? We could say oh Jesus was divine its not a fair example, but Jesus was also human. What does he do?  He put time and effort into doing some hard stuff to upskill and prepare himself for the task that lay ahead. He allowed himself to be led by the Spirit. This is not as easy as it sounds. We like to be in control. We listen to ourselves and those around us and sometimes we don’t hear the voice of God. It takes time and effort to hear.

We often focus on the physical and ignore the spiritual. How many tomes of writing are there on healthy eating, exercise etc all focused on the body? We need this, but we need an equal balance of intellectual development and spiritual and emotional. As an entity we need to develop all components to be fully human and our best self. What we take in (not just food and drink) impacts how we think and feel.

To resist temptation, we need to know the path we wish to walk. Too often we accept a vague sense and don’t take the time to understand it clearly, without understanding how we can really commit. And how can someone resist the temptation to stray if one is not committed?

Clarity. Commitment. Resilience. Strength.