How to overcome temptation?

THE OTHER SIDE OF TEMPTATION

Lk. 4:1-13

To most of us, temptation is a word with only one meaning.  It is an enticement to do something wrong.  When money is tight, we are tempted to cheat and to steal.  When someone treats us unfairly, we are tempted to hate and to get even.  When people are vulnerable, we are tempted to take advantage of them, to use them for our own pleasure.  All of us are familiar with this aspect of temptation.  We deal with it on a regular basis, but we tend to forget the other side of temptation which is just as real.

If we are tempted to steal, we are also tempted to be honest.  If we are tempted to hate, we are also tempted to forgive.  If we are tempted to use people, we are also tempted to serve them.  Every time a man is tempted to be unfaithful to his wife, he is, in that same moment, tempted to be faithful.  A little voice on the inside says, "Wait a minute.  Be sensible.  Remember the warmth of your family fireside, the trust of your children, and the respect of your friends.  Will you trade all of that for one episode of fleeting pleasure?   Don’t be stupid."

To forget this other side of temptation is to put ourselves at a distinct disadvantage.  Military people tell us that the first rule of warfare is, "Never underestimate your enemy."  If that be true, I would say the second rule is this, "Never underestimate yourself."  We must never think of ourselves as merely the pawns and playthings of evil.  It is true that our nature has a dark side to which evil makes its appeal, but it is also true that our nature has a bright side where honour and decency gain a hearing.  This part of us is just as real as the other.

Our Gospel reading tells the story of our Lord's temptation in the wilderness.  Most of the time, we see only the dark side of that drama.  But today, I want us to look at the other side.  The devil was there, we are told, but God was also there.  It was the Spirit of God who led Him into that struggle.  And so, the battle began.

On one side, He was tempted to satisfy His pangs of hunger.  On the other side, He was enticed to place His trust in God Who will look after His needs.  On one side, He was tempted to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple.  On the other side, He was enticed not to put the Lord to the test.  And finally, He was tempted to own the kingdoms of the world if He would worship Satan.  On the other side He knew only the Lord His God is to be worshipped and served.

Temptation is a two-way street.  We are enticed by things that are right, just as surely as we are enticed by things that are wrong.  Which shall prevail depends, for the most part, upon us and the choices we make.  At least, we are on an even playing field.  We have just as good a chance to be honourable as to be dishonourable, to be true as to be false.

This means, of course, that we are engaged in an unending battle.  If life pulled us only in one direction, we could relax and go with the flow.  There would be no struggle.  That is how things seem to work with the lower animals.  They have no internal sense of right and wrong.  Their only guidance system is what we call instincts, the urgings of their primal needs.  So, a big dog can eat all of the food and let the little dog go hungry.  It does not bother him at all. 

As far as we can tell, the lower animals are not bothered by what we call "the voice of conscience".  They just do what comes naturally and never lose any sleep over it.  Something about our makeup will not allow us to do wrong and feel right.  There is an upward slant in our souls, just as surely as there is a downward drag.  That means we are engaged in a life-long struggle.

It also means God is with us.  In the temptation experience, we are not alone.  We are not resisting evil all by ourselves.  Sometimes, it seems like we are.  The voice that urges us to do wrong is so insistent and sounds so reasonable, that we can hardly hear anything else. 

Lord Jesus, we must believe that we are not alone.  We thank You that we have You helping us as well as Mary, our mother, our patron saint and our Guardian Angel.

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