To Guard Against Temptation {A Journal Entry}

To Guard against Temptation{A journal entry}:

James 1:14 But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

*Temptation comes in the dragged away places.

Those areas of my life that aren’t walking hand in hand, or just right next to, Jesus.

This verse also makes me notice that what is tempting to me is not actually what is tempting me. My own evil desire is what is dragging me there. Usually what we are tempted by is an inanimate object, or else it is an animate entity we view as an object. Either way, both typically hold no power in themselves. Temptations are not usually forced upon us, for if we were forced into it, it wouldn’t be a temptation. Oh sure, sometimes we feel like we have no choice in the matter, but if that wasn’t something we struggled with (for certainly there are people in the world who are NOT tempted by your that thing you desire the most), then there wouldn’t be any issue; temptation does not force us. Rather, the evil desire in us is PULLING us towards that thing, not because we need it or sometimes even want it, but because of how we FEEL upon partaking of that.

Think about it:

For those who are tempted by alcohol, it’s not the liquid substance that tempts you, it’s how you feel when you drink. You enjoy feeling fun, or likeable, invincible, king of the world, or you like that the pain has been taken away (even if only for the duration of time that the alcohol is in your veins). Really, the person who is tempted by that, and many other things too, is fighting whatever is death to them. If you like the feelings you get while drinking, then the opposite is what you fear, it’s what you HATE feeling; that is your “death.” To be UNlikeable, or UNfun, or stoppable, or to have no power of your own, or to continue to feel the pain---that is your worst nightmare.

For those who are tempted by sex or porn, that object is not what draws you in, you draw it to you because of how you FEEL while participating. Do you feel powerful? Beautiful? Macho? Desirable? Those are all false-senses. You didn’t become any more powerful, beautiful, macho, or desirable because of that act. That didn’t make you better at all. It just made you THINK you were. You actually didn’t gain any of those qualities.

To those who desire money, they don’t actually want green sheets of paper, because if those green sheets of paper were not used as currency, then they would have no need for rooms and lock-boxes full of it.

Do you like that you are capable of acquiring anything with that money? Will perils of war and famine and hunger not come knocking at your door because you can buy your way out of it; you can build a bomb shelter or a buy a castle in Switzerland? Can you get away with anything because somewhere along the line someone who stands in between you and your freedom can get bought out of the way for the small price of some amount that is inconsequential to you? Aren’t you really desiring the power that money wields? The protection against perils?

News flash: Someday, no matter how many wars you can buy your way out of suffering through—or whatever it is you are buying your way out of, you are still going to die.

Are you tempted by body image issues (eating disorders {i.e. anorexia, bulimia, gluttony---they are all just different means to the same end}, over-working out, etc)? No, you’re not. Your evil desire wants whatever you feel that will accomplish. How do I know?

Been there, done that.

In this situation you wrongly believe that you will either be more lovable, desirable, protected, if you participate in that lifestyle. For those who fall into the LACK of food category, we usually deal with control issues and the fear that if we are not in control then we will not be secure. Or we fear that no one will ever love us and therefore our whole life will be a life of emptiness, ravaging, and that we will never be safe.

For the over-eaters, do you use food as a wall? As a means of protection? So that no one will ever get close again? So that no one will ever get close enough to HURT you again? And those who try to get close must not be out to hurt you and must be good people because they aren’t in it for looks or for themselves?

I hope this wasn’t some rambling exposé. What I think the truth of this verse is that what we are tempted by, or what areas are “dragged away,” are areas that are not walking next to Jesus. They are false-saviors. Why else would the commandments say, both in the Old and New Testaments, all be summed up in: you shall love the Lord your God with everything, and He shall be your ONLY God?

Our own evil desires drag us away. Those weaknesses we haven’t let Jesus into. We have to watch ourselves carefully---we are tempted the most by our greatest weakness (for where Jesus is not, the devil most certainly is).

Praise be, then, that for the believer temptations can be conquered!! Jesus said, “’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”(II Cor. 12:9-10)

We can have strength in our weaknesses, in our “dragged away” places, when we let Jesus bring those areas back to walk just right next to him.