Lead Us Not into Temptation

I almost skipped this part of the prayer. I have a hard time relating to the word temptation. Not that I am above being tempted nor strong enough to resist it on my own but at my age what temptations do I face every day?

I am far too old for most of the things we think of when we hear the word tempted. I don’t drink enough to even say I drink at all. Not because I face temptation, but I just don’t like the taste of most drinks. I don’t chase women because I can’t remember what to do if I caught one. I don’t steal money but then I am not near any money to steal.

Then it hit me that I still thought of temptation as the urge to do some physical wrong or sin. You know like the Devil getting Eve to eat an apple in the garden of Eden. Then I realized the apple was not the problem. The serpent had caused Eve to become suspicious of God. The suspicion broke the relationship of trust and the apple was only a symbol of their no longer believing that God wanted the best for them.

The Devil appears only three times in scripture and tries to create suspicion on each occasion.

In the garden he tries to make man suspicious of God’s motives and plans.

In the book of Job, he tries to make God suspicious of man saying that they only follow God in order to get rich and blessed.

On the mount of temptation, he cast doubt to Jesus on whether or not man-kind was worth saving, suggesting all they wanted was to be fed, dominated and mystified.

The Devil is not some character running around in red underwear trying to get us all to be drunks. He is far more subtle than that. He deals in marginal discipleship. “Just don’t go too far. Don’t let it ruin you or your reputation. Get just enough to get into Heaven.” “Don’t get so involved it makes you seem weird or strange.” “Keep it Cool.”

He introduced the BUT into the faith. “I know God said not to eat from that tree, BUT” He still uses the same tactic. “Jesus said turn the other cheek, BUT we can’t just let people walk all over us.”

Perhaps the prayer is for guidance more than relief. Maybe I need insight and understanding from Him more than deliverance. Maybe my prayer should be:

Lord, guide me to know the difference between acceptance and condoning. I want to be a loving and accepting person but there must be sometimes when somebody needs to say something and frankly, I don’t know how to determine the difference so please guide me from the temptation to jump in and judge when I am supposed to hush and just love.

Lord, teach me how to determine when it is Your will and not just my way of justifying things and bending them to fit? Why does “His will” always seem to be what I wanted in the first place?

Lord, I am like a horse that gets the bit in its mouth, so the rider can lose control. My mode of operation is, “Ready, Fire, Aim.” I am the proverbial bull in the china closet spending far too much time cleaning up the messes I made. Teach me, dear Lord, to be quiet and wait on Your timetable.

I don’t know if it is the Devil or just me, but I need a lot of help in the once guilty or tainted always guilty or tainted. I catch myself seeing folks as somehow tainted even if they have done things no worse than what I have done. I have far too much of the old seeing the toothpick in someone’s eye and missing the two by four in my own eye sort of a deal.

You say that you put their sins so far away that you can’t remember them, but I tend to keep them handy and see the sin and the stain instead of the glory of Your cleansing and forgiveness.

 Wow I started this blog feeling like I was above being tempted and ended up praying “Lead me away from temptation and deliver me from me.”