Lent is a time to reflect on temptation. Remember Lay’s potato chips? Nobody can eat just one?
One of the scripture lessons assigned for the beginning of Lent is the Genesis story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden where the snake entices the eating of the apple. (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7) Well, how can you blame them, that snake was sly and crafty. He got the best of them. It’s the snake’s fault. Or should Eve be the one held responsible? After all, we are told that she gives the apple to Adam. Is it all about Eve? First she gets duped by the snake and then she leads her lover astray. But what about Adam? We are told that he was with Eve. So he witnessed the wiles of the snake. Did he stand his ground against the snake? No. Adam knew where the fruit came from and that didn’t hold him back.
When it comes to temptation, there is always the temptation to blame someone else; put the responsibility elsewhere. There was a pastor, and this is a true story, who was being examined for charges of sexual misconduct in his parish. In explaining one incident, he told how a single woman who was a member of the church had asked him to pay a pastoral call. The arrangements were made. When he got to the door of the apartment where she lived alone, she answered the door clad in a scanty negligee. In he went. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. In telling the examining committee about this, he said, “What was I supposed to do?” He felt this was her doing and he had done nothing wrong. He did not think that he was responsible for what occurred. He just went along with the wishes of one of his parishioners. He did not think he really had any viable alternative. “Turn and run,” came to my mind.
There will always be temptations. We will be tempted by people to do things we know are wrong and hurtful. We will be tempted to overeat and drink. We will be tempted to be sedentary and not take care of our bodies. We will be tempted to accept the status quo even when that involves endorsing oppression. We will be tempted to do good things for the wrong reasons; reasons that are self-serving. We’ll be tempted to abuse the earth with our consumption and lifestyle. We’ll be tempted to betray those we love in some way. We will be tempted to ignore things we should take responsibility for. Take a moment to think about what kinds of things have tempted you or are tempting you.
So, how do we respond to temptation? The tradition of giving up something for Lent is a way to practice resisting temptation. It is way to develop discipline. And as we get better at resisting small things, we work our way up to resisting big things. It’s like exercise. If you take up running, you don’t start with a 10 mile jog. You build up to that. Or think about learning to play a musical instrument. You start with easy, basic songs and gradually work on harder and harder music. Lent is a time to build up our ability to resist temptation.
Another strategy for responding to temptation is to keep yourself busy doing good. There’s that old expression, “Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.” If you are suitably occupied helping others and praying and active in church and giving yourself to the common good and taking delight in creation and the arts, well, then there’s less room for temptation to creep in.
Whatever temptations we are facing, we want to remember that WE are facing them. We are responsible. We need to choose what we will do. We need to exert discipline and self-control. No one else is going to do it for us and no one else can be held accountable for what we choose to do.
Prayer: There are so many voices calling out to us and tempting us away from the abundant life that we are offered through Christ Jesus. We pray to have ears to hear the voices that assault us and to be honest with ourselves about our circumstances. We know that we need to take responsibility for our lives and not blame others for the mistakes we make. May we forgive ourselves and others for giving in to temptation. May we use this season of Lent as a time to grow in our discipline and self control. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 