Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
When we face temptation, there are two possible conclusions – either we give into the temptation (the bad outcome), or we experience the fullness of its power in resisting it (the good – although deeply unpleasant – outcome). Giving in to temptation is an obvious possible result. When it crosses our mind or heart to do something we know we should not do, sometimes we go ahead and do it anyway. We are people who sin, and temptation is what plants the seed that leads us there. But what happens when we resist temptation? What happens when we are tempted and try to say “no” to our desires?
If the answer was “the temptation just goes away!”, resisting temptation would be easy. In that scenario, the battle against our sinful nature becomes the simple act of rejecting what is evil and accepting what is good. How lovely it would be if things were that simple. Unfortunately, it is not so. Generally, when we try to resist temptation to sin, the temptation lingers and becomes stronger, attempting to overwhelm us. The temptation to snap at my roommates for not doing their dishes only increases the longer that those dishes remain in the sink. (I don’t think they read these reflections, but if they do – c’mon guys…) It’s a low-stakes example, but if I was to give into that temptation, feelings would be hurt and living together would become unpleasant, or if I finally have enough, I might end up doing their dishes, but out of frustration and anger, not out of love of neighbor. We can raise the stakes and the temptations as much as we want, but the fact remains the same: the longer a temptation lingers, the stronger it becomes.
On rare occasions, temptations disappear on their own. My roommates do their dishes, a child we want to reprimand stops misbehaving, or someone at work we want to “tell off” starts becoming more amicable. For the sake of our souls, we cannot depend on this happening. The change that removes the temptation doesn’t come from within, but from something outside our ourselves.
So what must we do in the face of temptation? In our first reading (James 1:12-18), James reminds us that we shouldn’t tell ourselves that our temptation comes from God – God will never tempt us to do evil. Instead, James tells us, our temptations come from ourselves, and left with our temptations, we sin, and that ultimately “gives birth to death.”
Resisting temptation is no easy feat. It requires a great deal of self-reflection and awareness that are difficult to attain when trying to live the rest of our lives. It is so much easier to sin than to avoid it, most of the time. When we find this is the case, it is often best to seek to remove a temptation entirely, as opposed to hoping it will go away on its own. Whether that means removing ourselves from a situation or dramatically changing our outlook to ensure that we are acting with love, changes (after a great deal of prayer and discernment) must be made to avoid temptation entirely. Resisting temptation is a good, but often temporary, solution.
Today, may we prayerfully find the strength and courage to recognize where temptation has a hold of our lives, and may we seek to take action not only to resist it, but to completely avoid that which tempts us.
- Marty Bagatti