temptation

When I became a Christian back (WAY back) in 1979, I started memorizing Bible verses. I’d read somewhere this would help me grow as a follower of Jesus, so I put my heart into it.

One of the verses I learned early on was 1 Corinthians 10:13. It deals with the subject of temptation, so I considered it important to keep this one close at hand.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13

Decades later, I still have this verse in my heart, but I admit I don’t always apply it. It’s easy to focus on the temptation and forget about God’s promise. Sorry, Lord!

The NIV (the Bible I use for this blog) arranges this verse in three sentences. The first one corrects mistaken thinking. When we face a temptation, we could assume we’re the only ones tested in that way. But it’s not the case; our trials are commonplace. Paul doesn’t suggest our difficulty is minimal. Rather, he reminds us God has seen it all before and knows what we need.

And that brings up the second sentence. While our loyalty to Jesus is being tested, His faithfulness to us is reliable. He won’t permit us to get overwhelmed. The weight of our temptations can feel crushing, but the Lord won’t let us collapse. He’s aware of how much we can handle.

How does the Lord help us at such times? The third sentence tells us, but here’s where something jumped out at me. According to Paul, God gives us a way out of our temptations so we can endure them. Like the title of this post says, we endure by escaping.

But that’s not logical. The Greek word for “endure” means to “bear under.” Think of it as being willing and able to shoulder a big burden. In this sense, tackling temptation is like carrying a heavy load without crumbling. We’d assume that God would grant us power to bear the burden, like when Samson carried the gate of Gaza (see Judges 16:3). A four ton gate on his back; now that’s strength!

Sounds like the adventure of a superhero, but it’s not what Paul describes. Instead of bestowing transcendent fortitude, God points out an exit! And while I appreciate the tip, why not give me a remarkable ability to resist?

God’s empowerment or His deliverance? In my head, I should rest satisfied with either option. But in my heart, I’m troubled. Supernatural empowerment would make me feel special. Running away from a problem reminds me of the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz; too afraid to put up a fight. What a blow to my ego!

But that’s the point, isn’t it?

Temptation teaches us how weak we are. Without the grace of God, we’ll fail. Not right away, but sooner or later, we’ll succumb. Paul buttresses this fact with the verses surrounding verse 13.

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” – 1 Corinthians 10:12

Self-confidence in the spiritual life is tricky. When we suppose we have our act together, we’re vulnerable because we don’t suspect we’re targeted. And that’s a dangerous position to be in.

The Cowardly Lion didn’t get everything wrong. He had a habit of running away from danger; Paul recommends the same thing for us.

“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” – 1 Corinthians 10:14

The city of Corinth reeked of gross immorality and idolatry. It was tough to live as a loyal Christian there. Sewn into the social fabric of the community, temptations were everywhere. To stay with the in crowd, people didn’t think twice about bowing down to pagan deities. But Christ demanded exclusive loyalty from His followers.

So sometimes, the best way to deal with temptations to compromise was to escape. It’s not without precedent. Paul’s advice hearkens back to the patriarch Joseph. Rather than risk succumbing to the adulterous advances of his master’s wife, he ran out of the house (see Genesis 39).

And a few chapters back, the apostle instructs the Corinthians to evade immorality.

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:18

And twice Paul tells his apprentice Timothy to steer clear of temptations.

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ¹¹But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” – 1 Timothy 6:9-11

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” – 2 Timothy 2:22

In light of all these verses, we do ourselves a favor by escaping temptation. How then, do we endure? What are we bearing up under?

The internal pressure to conform to this world. We can run away from the temptation, but the feeling of cowardice might still hound us. It doesn’t let us forget that we “ran off” and it will mock our weakness. How do we combat this assault on our character? By accepting, even celebrating, our weaknesses.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

The challenge of discipleship is that we discover Christ’s power only when we abandon our own. To others, we appear fainthearted for not asserting ourselves with aggression. But when we learn to depend on Jesus, we avail ourselves of a power far greater than any we could imagine.

Through His cross and resurrection, we endure by escaping.