“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.” Proverbs 5:3-4
Temptation is an urge or alluring of something desired. Is it good or bad? In proverbs, the author is referring to being tempted by adultery; like in the case of King David and Bathsheba. King David saw a beautiful woman bathing and had to have her, even though she was married to Uriah.
In my experience, I have yet to find a temptation that was good. Think about it a minute, Chocolate….good but what happens to your body because of the chocolate…bad. I guess to me even though the desire could be a good one, to be tempted is to be seduced into wanting something you know you should not have or a portion that is in excess.
I didn’t think it was possible to be tempted to do something that is genuinely good because if it was I believed I would have just done it. However, when I was younger I didn’t understand that you could be tempted to do God’s Will such as running into McDonald’s to purchase a meal for a homeless person or helping an elderly person or mother with kids load their groceries into the car. When I was younger I only saw the temptations that lead to negative behaviors and chose not to notice the positive temptations. Now I seek out ways to be tempted for the Lord and steer clear of anything I know that will tempt me to do old sinful habits.
Open you eyes to the possibility of seeing a way to be tempted for God’s purposes.
1 comment
Mary Malin
Sarah, I agree with you. Temptation wouldn’t be temptation if it was good, it’s always evil or not for good. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:12-15). God would not lead us to sin. This is one of those areas of “choices.” We have the freedom to say, “Yes” or “No” to temptation.