Second, understand how that cheese works
Jesus’ brother James talks about temptation in his letter to the early Christians. He writes in chapter one about the way temptation works in our lives and gives us some clues about how to resist temptations lure.
When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy. After they have proved their faith, God will reward them with life forever. God promised this to all those who love him. When people are tempted, they should not say, “God is tempting me. Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. But people are tempted when their own evil desire leads them away and traps them. This desire leads to sin, and then the sin grows and brings death. James 1:12 – 15 (NCV)
James walks us through how temptation turns to sin. Here are some of the lessons we can learn from his insights to human nature and the ways we can be overcome our temptations.
We all love cheese
We need to know that we are not exempt from temptation. The word is not if, but when. We have to remember that we can all be tempted and at anytime. I’m amazed that sometimes during a normal conversation what thoughts might pop into our minds. You ever had that moment where you just shook your head and thought, “Where did that come from?”
Cheese comes in all kinds of flavors and forms. I grew up on government cheese and have always wished I could get my hands on some of it even now. No matter what cheese you crave, it will always find a way to call to us. After all is there anything better than some warm, fresh nachos? Or what about queso dip that is just a little steamy and flavored just right? See what is happening, you didn’t even really want any cheese right now. But, let me describe a little cheese and you cannot think of anything else.
Temptation is a moldy old cheese block
James tells us to not think that God is tempting us or testing us when bad desires jump up in our thoughts and life. I really like to have blue cheese on my steak or chicken when I cook it at home. Sometimes though, Shelly will look at the blue cheese and let me know that it is not supposed to be that blue. She reminds me that though the blue cheese is blue, when it crosses the line it is just and old, moldy bunch of cheese.
It is the same with temptation. It is being drawn to something evil that will hurt our lives and our relationship with others. Temptation can cause mold to grow on our hearts and cause us to become unusable at times. So just remember that when the cheese is moldy it is time to get rid of it and not eat. Temptation is not something to mess around with. Being strong is sometimes running from temptation or standing. It all depends on the temptation and what it calls us to do to overcome the temptation.
The cheese we like, is the cheese we like
There are a bunch of different kinds of cheese. There is a store near us that has an entire section of cheese. There has to be like fifty different cheeses. When I was a kid I only knew about government cheese and cheese slices. Then you discover a different cheese that you just really enjoy. Like, you cannot even get enough of it. You think about it and it is there in the forefront of your mind. It is just hanging there and tempting us to come and eat.
James reminds us that we are only tempted by our own desires. Not someone else’s desires, but our own. That is why temptation is so hard to resist at times. It is the desires of our hearts that will lead us to the wrong thing and eventually to a bad situation and choices that could derail our lives. You have to decide if you are ready to admit what tempts you and avoid those things. You must decide what you are willing to avoid in order to live your best life.
Nibbling on cheese can lead to the trap that can catch us all
James reminds us that if we give in to temptation then we will kill something. It may not be the death of someone, but it can be the death of a relationship. Maybe, it is just the death of your own self-control. It can be the death of a commitment to be better and to make our lives more solid. It can be the death of our own self-image and respect.
We know we should not even nibble on the cheese, but oh man, that cheese is something else. We need to remember that cheese is not something we should trade our lives to get. Cheese is just cheese unless it ruins our lives. So remember, there is a reason the cheese is free in the trap. It is not good for us. We need to avoid the cheese to avoid the trap.
Next time we will talk about how to avoid the cheese and save our lives.