Temptation to sin…

Today is the third day of Lent. Lent is a call to conversion. The enemy of conversion is sin.
Let me limit my reflections to three points that lead us to sin.
The first question is: what is temptation? We will know it when we know the source from where it comes.
Temptations only come from the devil. His intention in tempting us is to make us stumble. God will never tempt us. God can only test us. When the devil tempt us, his intention is to make us bad. When God test us, His intention is to make us better. When the devil tempt us, his intention is to drive us away from God. When God test us, He actually invites us to cling to Him during that period of trial.

Temptation can be a responsibility and a burden. Testing from the Lord can actually be a blessing. As gold is tested by fire, so is our Christianity also tested by God.
God’s tests are not to make life more difficult for us, but to make us better persons. The Lord wants the gold in us to surface by subjecting us to fire.
The Scriptures tell us of ways God tested His followers.
Abraham was tested by God. The Lord asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac to Him. It was not a temptation, it was a test intended to make the best in Abraham come out.
The Lord also tested the Jews. For 40 years, they wandered in the desert. The Lord tested them in the desert. The Lord wanted the good in them, the love in them, the faith in them to come out even more.

My second question is: What were the temptations faced by the Lord?
According to the Gospel the Lord was tempted three times. The first temptation was for Him to use His power for His own convenience. The Lord refused to do it, instead He chose the more difficult way, the way of sacrifice. We, who often opt for the easy way out, can learn something from the temptation of the Lord.

When I speak of temptation, I do not speak only of temptation of the flesh. Temptation can also come in the form of choosing the easy way out.
Temptations can also come in the form of telling a lie because you are afraid to be punished or to be humiliated. Temptations can also come in the form of leaning towards the more convenient or the more expedient ways, instead of the moral and proper thing to do.
We can speak of people who abuse their authority for their own convenience. We can speak of people who abuse the goodness and meekness of their fellowmen.
That is the first temptation of Jesus-- the temptation to make life comfortable at the expense of others, the temptation to abuse oneself to make life easier and more convenient.
The second is the temptation for power--worldly power, secular power. This is very clear for the Lord who says: “I do not need worldly power because I do not live in this world.”

In our life, arguments run like these: there is no sex in heaven so we might as well enjoy everything here on earth; we cannot bring our money to heaven, so it might as well be spent here in whatever manner we desire; let us enjoy all the praises here on earth, there might not be any in heaven. These are the temptations of popularity, money and sex.
The third temptation is to ask people to serve you rather than you serving other people; asking the Lord to serve you because you have been very good; asking the Lord to spare you from sickness because you attend Mass regularly; asking the Lord to make your family and children good and successful because you pray everyday.

We are here not because we want to be rewarded. We are here because we want to repay the Lord. When everything has been said and done, we can only say that wee are just but useless servants of God. We do not do good because we want to be rewarded. We do good because God has been good to us.

The third question is: How did the Lord face temptation?
Jesus, when tempted, did not argue. He did not use His reasoning. He used the Scriptures against the devil.
The way to overcome temptation is not to use psychology, logic, philosophy or even theology. The way to overcome temptation is by attuning yourself always to the Word of God--by prayer.
You must pray when you are tempted.

It is very difficult to face temptations. I speak from experience. It is easier to fall into temptations. One geek may say: “the way to get rid of temptations is to do them.” By this he meant that the way to get rid of temptations is to do the sin. Thus he banish temptation by giving in to it.

It is enjoyable to give in to temptation, and it can be very easy. But the Lord never promised us an easy life, only a meaningful life. Need I say more?
God bless us all!