The Tempter does not want you to know that it is temptation; he even wants his presence not to be detected in the process. It is too easy to just go with the flow, even when it is bad; it is easy to yield in unthinking ways. We think of temptation in terms of “to sin or not to sin” when it is more than that. Temptation is not merely an enticement to something you want; it is an opportunity to reject the lessor for the greater. Sometimes it is merely to do the good and not the best; it is to love or not to love. It is a temptation; call it that. Stop, look, think and weigh what is happening. Know that it is a test of character; it is a fork in the road and your spiritual formation is at stake. Jesus’ temptation was three ways to avoid the cross; that is what it all comes down to for us as well.
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NASB)
