Postkiwi

Run from anything that gives you the evil thoughts… but stay close to anything that makes you want to do right.
2 Timothy 2.22 (Living Bible)

Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (New Living Translation)

Rick Warren in today’s chapter reminds us not to become defeatist when it comes to temptation. He starts with a claim that God will not allow us to face any temptation that we cannot overcome. And then goes on to tell us that all will be OK if we are proactive and follow his 4 point Biblical plan.

1. Refocus your attention on something else.
2. Reveal your struggle to a godly friend or support group.
3. Resist the Devil.
4. Realize your vulnerability.

Hmm. Rick’s running with Paul’s promise that God won’t test us beyond the point of endurance. I’m not too sure. I’ve seen many Christians crack under pressure, sometimes ending up in moral failure or with mental illness. I don’t think it’s God’s fault. We take on challenges and expectations that sometimes are unrealistic projections of what we think God wants. But we are fragile and vulnerable people.

Rick’s chapter is based on the second part of the 1 Corinthians verse: finding a way out of temptation.

Refocusing is a brilliant idea. And I appreciate Rick’s acknowledgement that this takes a lifetime of practice, particularly when it comes to addiction. The addictive mind is more devious that we allow.With the Holy Spirit’s help we can reprogram the way we think.

Yes - keeping an honest accountability with peers or supervisors is a healthy way to go. The AA recovery movement has a lot to teach us in this area. The moment of confession takes the power out of pride and self-deceit.

Helping others face up to their areas of weakness is a tricky business. As a parent I feel responsible for helping my kids develop self-awareness in the areas of their strengths and limits. They don’t always enjoy it when I confront them over discrepancies between action and word. But they seem to act on it in the long term. Between friends or colleagues honest confrontation is no easy task. Many friendship have been lost. But if friends can’t do it, who can?

Rick talks about resisting the Devil in terms of memorizing and using scripture. Looking at the number of times he quotes scripture in his book, that’s obviously the way he works. I’ve memorised lots of scripture but I can’t say it really helps when under pressure. I think it’s more the principles that I’ve developed while studying scripture. The principles of purity, of faithfulness, honesty, gentleness, patience and so on.

And once again, I’m not keen on the idea that we are neutral members of a conversation between God and the Devil. We are quite capable of having inner ethical dialogues without supernatural interference.

I agree wholeheartedly with Rick’s last principle. Avoid temptation by realizing your vulnerability. If that means not turning the computer on so be it. If it means staying out of bakeries and DVD stores, so be it!