Why You Should Give In (Part 1)

We may struggle with different kinds of temptations, but we’re all tempted. Recently, I have been meditating on what temptation actually is and what it means to overcome. This isn’t about mind tricks. It’s about understanding what we are committing to and what it means that God will “provide a way out” so that we can “stand up under it” (1 Cor. 10:13). Part One of this topic will cover some broad biblical truths about temptation. Part Two will focus more practically on how to overcome.

First, to fall for temptation is to fall for a lesser love. Why do we sin? Not because someone is forcing us to but because we love it. I think of Romans 6:18: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” I have been set free. I am a slave to righteousness. I don’t have to sin. But I want to.

There’s a Christian worship song that seems to be well-known called “Lord, I Need You” by Matt Maher. The song is certainly true; we do need Him. He is our Defense, our Righteousness, and our Refuge. We need Him to just sustain us—even if we don’t want Him! Anyone could sing the lyrics “Lord, I Need You” and be right. The question is, do we want Him? “Lord, I want You.” I want that to be the song of my heart.

In James, we see that the real issue is desire. It’s not God who’s tempting us. Each of us is tempted when we are “dragged away” and “enticed” by our own evil desires (Jas. 1:14, 4:1). It’s desire that leads to sin, and sin to death. What we do is to satisfy ourselves. Whether we act impulsively or spend hours in tedious planning, desire is often the culprit.

Of course, desiring pleasure isn’t bad. As the psalmist writes, “You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Pleasures! We can also find pleasure in God’s gifts, and they are many. The problem is when we place the gift above the Giver. Instead of being empowered and directed by our love for God, we are controlled and ruled by the gift we made our master.

First Corinthians 10:13 promises that no temptation has overtaken us except what is common to man, and that God will provide a “way out.” The context of this is Israel sinning in the wilderness and Paul explaining to the Corinthians how these things happened to keep them from likewise setting their hearts on idols. In the desert, the Israelites gave in to their “cravings” and put God to the test. In the words of Psalm 106, they “exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass” and “forgot the God who saved them.”

The temptation to find solace, satisfaction, security, or significance in anything but God is a temptation to worship our own golden calf. In our culture, even our Christian culture, we seem to forget that by giving in even to the little or socially acceptable things, by choosing self-sufficiency and meeting our needs our way, and by digging our own well (Jer. 2:13), we dethrone God and put first the love of self.

In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes, “Satan does not tempt us just to make us do wrong things...He does not come to us on the premise of tempting us to sin, but on the premise of shifting our point of view.” In other words, his work is subtle. Sin is always deceptive and promises more than it can deliver, and the strange thing is that we often know it. Sin is irrational, but even that doesn’t stop us, because our desires, or loves, are strong, and we fall for that distorted point of view. We lose sight of the unseen and eternal and shift to the temporary here and now (2 Cor. 4:18). And we reject our good High Priest who understands our weakness.

The hopeful note is coming. Stay tuned.