On the night of His betrayal, our Lord gave the apostles very important instruction regarding temptation. He told them, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."We need to take time to meditate on these words. Let us ask ourselves, "Am I concerned about temptation?" We are concerned about mistakes. We are concerned about those things that we might do that may be embarrassing. We are concerned about habits that may not be socially acceptable. We are concerned about doing something that may get us in trouble with our employers, the leaders of the church, or the law of the land. But is this concern rooted in our faith or in our fear of people's opinions or our own discomfort? We should have a healthy fear of temptation because we should be afraid to sin.
Are you afraid to sin? Do you fear sin? Or are there perhaps some sins you fear, while there are others you sort of live with? How often do you reflect upon the horror of sin? Consider all the pain, all the injustice, all the suffering, all the foolishness, all the grief and fear in this world. Then, recognize that it is all the result of sin. It is all a result of the separation from the life and purposes of God which sin brings. Each and every time you give in to sin, you contribute to your own misery and the misery of the world around you. Do we not see this? And does it not cause us to tremble lest we sin?
And what of our heavenly Father's chastening? He will not allow His children to persist in sin. Are we not afriad of God's chastening? We should be! And if all this were not enough, it was sin that nailed our loving Lord to the cross of Calvary. We who claim to be the sons and daughters of the living, holy God should hate sin passionately! God does, and we are to be imitators of our heavenly Father.
Dear friends, let us examine ourselves to be sure that we have a right attitude toward sin and consequently toward tempation.
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