Temptation: An Opportunity for Spiritual Growth

Temptation

An Opportunity for Spiritual Growth

Roy Hershberger

Temptation is one subject not often discussed in our day. Yet who has not struggled with the human tendency to make wrong and destructive choices? Indeed if we are truly seeking God's will for our lives temptation will most certainly be part of our normal spiritual development.
     Our current culture often views issues of right and wrong as a personal choice. This has led to a lack of objective standards, a loose cultural attitude toward morality, and an indifference toward the issue of temptation. Temptation is often seen as an old fashioned concept, and the benefits of resistance are no longer discerned. This is an unfortunate development however, because learning to overcome and resist actually has great rewards. It is in fact a vital part of our growth as human beings, playing a indispensable role in the development of our character and dignity.
     Why is doing the wrong thing often seem so attractive and gratifying when in reality it is repulsive and destructive? How do we learn to make the right choices when we seem to have a compelling desire to make wrong ones? What is behind this constant struggle of the will?
     A simplistic but often heard answer is that it is human nature to gravitate toward sinful behavior. To oppose sinful desires is to oppose human nature. This may be true in some respect, but I believe there are much deeper things at work, and if we strive to understand those deeper things we may find greater spiritual strength to overcome our human weakness.
     The process of overcoming temptation is a difficult, painful road often strewn with countless failings and humbling experiences. Indeed the greatest temptation of all is to stop fighting. As long as we continue the resistance, as long as we resolve to do better and to overcome, then God can use that struggle for his purpose. However, the most terrible danger lies in the thought that the thing we struggle against is really not an enemy at all, and that if we stop resisting the consequences will be nominal, maybe even beneficial or liberating. To bow to such thinking is to fall into a state of spiritual stagnation in which a growing numbness of the conscience is sure to follow.
     Yet another pitfall is to arrive at a point where we believe that resistance is futile, and though we cannot convince ourselves that what we are doing is okay, we have simply lost all will to continue fighting. We then resolve ourselves to a pattern of perpetual giving in to temptation and then appealing to God's grace for forgiveness. This too will result in a spiritual stagnation, and though God's grace is truly endless, such a condition is pushing up against the true meaning of grace. It is questionable whether or not there is forgiveness for those who would adopt such a mentality. When there is no desire of the heart to be free from sin, and we are already planning to sin again at the same moment that we ask to be forgiven, it's hard to imagine that God will honor our request.
     Again, I think it all comes down to a matter of the heart. If we are only looking for an excuse to continue in our sin then I think we are on a dangerous road, still God's grace is greater then we can imagine for those who have reached the point of despair. At the least such an existence is not conducive to spiritual growth, and we will be effectively hampered as a vehicle of the Holy Spirit to bring light and truth into the world. It is a state of bondage to sin far from the freedom and spiritual vitality that God would desire for us.
     The ultimate purpose of temptation is that we struggle against it until we learn to resist and overcome. For in this process we are radically changed. We are transformed from weak children, spiritually speaking, to adults of moral and spiritual strength. Without this struggle there would be no opportunity to grow out of a spiritual infancy, no chance to develop true moral fiber. Each time we resist temptation our character is strengthened and refined moving us toward God's goal of spiritual maturity.
     Likewise each time we are overcome our spiritual health suffers a blow, and the lowest part of our fleshly/carnal nature is allowed to gain some ground in it's fight for dominance. Terms such as “flesh” or “carnal” may be new to the reader, or at the least may be easily misunderstood, so please allow me to explain. For I think this is an important part of understanding how to fight and win the battle.
     The New Testament encourages us to walk by the spirit and then we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. This begs the question - what does it mean to walk by the spirit, and what are the desires of the flesh?
     Human nature tends to gravitate toward the material world - our temporal needs and appetites - our wants and desires that are determined by our physical senses. To focus on such things is to be fleshy in nature, and the more we seek those things and give them first priority the more we are likely to be ruled by our fleshly/carnal, or to use a more modern term, sensual desires. This is not to say that human sensual desires and/or pleasures are bad in themselves, certainly not, yet to give them first priority in our lives is to necessarily live a life of selfishness where moral restraint of our natural physical desires is seldom, if ever, practiced.
      As we seek as our first priority the things of the flesh our perspective of reality will become more and more narrowed and distorted as we deny the spiritual part of our nature. In the extreme of such circumstance giving in to temptation can become a non-issue, the idea that we should even try to resist may be far removed from our thinking. At that point we become complete slaves of the sensual part of our being. The body, it's needs and pleasures become what motivates and inspires us. The awareness of a deeper spiritual reality becomes far removed from our experience, buried under our carnal desires. We grow hard hearted, insensitive to the work of God's Spirit in our heart and mind.
     In contrast to walk by the spirit is to focus first on the things that transcend the physical. What's important are things that will last forever. Relationships with God and are fellow human beings take first priority because we understand that they, unlike the material world, or our physical bodies, are eternal in nature. Every decision we make is brought through the eternal versus temporal filter. Knowing that in the end we will be judged not on what we have gained or experienced in a material physical sense, but what we have gained of everlasting spiritual value.
     As we develop such a spiritual perspective the sinful part of our nature becomes more and more obvious and more and more repulsive. We see wrong choices for what they really are, and we understand more clearly that making those choices will have eternal consequences.
     Realizing that any temptation that we give in to usually impacts relationships, either directly or indirectly, we gain new strength in overcoming, seeing the hideous result of our sin more clearly. When we do fail to do the right thing the grief of our wrong choices becomes more and more overwhelming as the Holy Spirit is allowed greater access to our inner being. That grief is remembered and the desire to return to our sin weakened. Old habits of making wrong choices give way to new habits of right choices, and our minds are renewed to see those choices for what they really are. Sin becomes less and less appealing, righteousness more and more desirous.
     If you've read this far you are likely someone who is seeking to walk by the spirit in this fashion, but you may be far from it at this point. How do we move toward such a reality in our lives? How do we learn to consistently overcome temptation?
     The first thing we need to understand is that it is a process, not something gained from a sudden spiritual experience or conversion. As stated earlier, part of the process is the struggle itself. We can be assured that no matter how often we fall and give into temptation, as long as we continue the fight, refusing to give into defeat, that God is working his good purpose in us. As we struggle we are forced to face our human weakness with all humility, realizing that we have no power in ourselves to overcome.
     Secondly we need to stop focusing on the temptation or on the sin itself. We are mistaken if we believe that making a resolution within ourselves never to give in again will be effective. Instead our attitude must be to busy ourselves with the life of the spirit. The more we focus on the eternal spiritual parts of life, desiring to deepen and set in order our relationship with God and those around us, the less sin will find a place in us.
     And finally we need to bring our sin into the open. We must reveal and confess it to others who will stand with us in the fight. Sin has more power over us and temptation is more difficult to overcome when our struggle remains isolated and hidden. Or perhaps our sin is obvious to others around us, but we refuse to acknowledge it in ourselves. We may be in a state of denial, unwilling to admit to ourselves and others that we have been making immoral choices. Whatever our situation may be if we willingly expose our sins to the light, and bring them out into the open, they will often wither away in the intense heat of honesty and truthfulness.
     Another important point to consider is that condemnation is ineffectual in getting people to overcome temptation. I have so often witnessed the fervent spiritual leader locked into a constant berating of those under him to get the sin out of their lives. This leads to a spirit of condemnation leaving people feeling defeated and without a vision for victory. Instead there should be a message of hope that freedom can be won if we continue on in the fight and not grow weary. Overcoming temptation requires spiritual vitality and hope, a growing sense that victory is attainable for anyone who seeks it.
     There are no easy pat answers for dealing with this issue, no 7 steps to a sinless life. Each of us must discover our own road to freedom. Yet I hope this article has pointed out some basic truths about the nature of temptation, it's purpose, and the benefits of resistance. The better we understand these things the better equipped we will be to overcome ever temptation we face. And more we learn to overcome temptation the more we will discover the depths of spiritual reality that God is longing for us to join him in.

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