Temptation
Megan Breedlove For awhile now, I’ve been on a diet, attempting to lose the last of the baby weight and return to my pre-pregnancy shape. And I’ve discovered something—that I’m not as easily able to resist certain types of temptation as I thought I was.
Doritos, for example. If they’re in the house, I will eat them. I may start with just one, but then there’ll be another one, and then a small bowlful. They don’t have that many calories, I tell myself. Besides, I’ll be really good the rest of the day.
It never works like that. Before I know it, I’ve consumed an unknown (but probably pretty high) quantity of nacho cheesy calories, and I still have half the day to go. During the rest of that day, I have not only to eat supper, but also to eat the rest of the Doritos I’ll probably eat.
In other words, I’m terrible at eating Doritos moderately. The only way for me not to eat way too many is not to eat that first one.
Realistically speaking, it doesn’t matter all that much whether I eat too many Doritos on occasion. But it does matter if I approach sin and temptation with the same attitude I approach Doritos. Let me explain.
God has told us to stay away from certain things—lust, greed, pride, and jealousy, to name just a few. If we stay far away from those things—if we refuse to allow ourselves to enjoy even a small portion of them—we’re fine. But if we think we can engage in “just a little bit” of gossip, or “not that much” greed, we’re making a dangerous mistake.
You see, just like eating Doritos (or whatever your favorite “forbidden” food is), partaking of a little bit of sin will lead to more. We speak a few words of gossip, and no lightning from heaven zaps us, so we figure gossip isn’t really all that bad. But the bad effects of it are building up in our system, not the least of which is causing us to want more.
Even with that first word of gossip, we’ve sinned and done something we shouldn’t do. Just because we don’t see immediate consequences doesn’t mean that we haven’t harmed ourselves. We’re already on the wrong side of the line.
Adam and Eve would have empathized with us. God had told them they could eat the fruit of every tree except one—one!—and they decided that one was just what they had to have. Look what happened. That “one” sin led to more and brought with it disastrous consequences, not only for them but for all mankind.
Don’t dabble in sin, my friends. You’ve been deceived by Satan if you think you can do “just a little” and then stop. You can’t. He’s far craftier than that, and you may be far weaker than you think. If you start allowing yourself to sin “just a little bit”, you’re going to do it more and more. And whether or not you see the consequences right then, you’re going to go to far. In fact, even with the first morsel of sin, you’ve already gone too far.
Is there some sin you’re dabbling with today? Is there something you’re engaging in and refusing to put to death in your life because it’s “not that bad”? You’re already walking on the wrong side of the line and don’t know it, for Scripture tells us that we can be sure our sin will find us out.
Get rid of your sin, whatever it is. Just like I can’t have Doritos in the house, get that favorite sin out of your spiritual house. Don’t leave even a single morsel of it around to tempt you.
Numbers 32:23—But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
Two days ago, I finished the manuscript for my third book, 
Every Friday night, we have a special custom at our house, one that all of us look forward to. Friday night is “Restaurant Night,” when the kids can have virtually whatever they want for supper (as long as it’s anywhere close to within reason, and as long as Mommy doesn’t have to cook it). Usually, the kids choose breakfast cereal because it’s easy for them to prepare and they enjoy it.
The sights: red and green; Christmas trees; sparkly gold; bustling shoppers; brightly-wrapped presents; children with eager faces.