Temptation is part of the devil's arsenal to steal, kill and destroy, and it is a powerful and highly effective weapon.
Indeed, many broken lives can be traced to some form of temptation at some point in time. Marriages don't fail overnight. Often, they are due to couples drifting apart, and that usually means one or both parties gravitating towards something more appealing than their spouse. Similarly, drug, gambling and pornography addiction do not just happen to somebody but gradually as one yields to the temptation of seeking a higher "high", more gratification or thrill.
Crimes too, happen when people yield to certain temptation, such as lust and greed. The temptation to take the easy way out of challenging situations has also seen many resorting to murder, lies, cheating and the like.
John Doe didn't just wake up one morning and decides to shoot his neighbour, did he? Likewise, temptation comes like a smooth-talking marketeer, reasoning with you why the only way out is to take a certain course of action, and replaying 'compelling evidence' and 'justification' in your mind over and over again.
No wonder the Lord advised us to flee from temptation. Don't even entertain it or take a second look like Lot's wife. Just walk, no, RUN away.
Temptation often works by deceiving us into thinking that we are in control, that we are the master. That cannot be further from the truth. When we entertain any temptation, it masters us immediately, even though we don't feel that way. It's said that fire is a good servant but a bad master. Unlike fire, temptation can never serve us. It serves only her master the devil, whose sole purpose is to bring us to hell, by temptation or by crook.
Thomas
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