Overcome the Negative Effects of Yielding to Temptation
When teaching Christians of your caliber and high level of maturity, my assumption is that yielding to temptation is for the most part a thing of the past, and that you have become a “role model of how to overcome”.
When you become the person God meant you to be – a child of God who knows right from wrong, whose life portrays it in actions and reactions – your life makes a positive impact on others - anywhere you go and whatever you do.
Such was the case in recent years with one of many famous sports figures who in my lifetime were not embarrassed to give public expression of their Christian Faith, even though criticized for doing so.
At a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event a couple of years ago, Tim Tebow said: “The world looks at me as a football player who is a Christian, but the way I look at it is, I am a Christian who happens to play football.”
When Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard became a Christian, he said, “Now, with God’s help, I will become the person God meant me to be.”
Folks, most of us discovered a long time ago who we are and what God meant us to be; we have spent years growing and maturing in Christ; we should, by now, have few if any regrets; yet from time to time we experience a few residual effects of having yielded to temptation in the past.
With regard to those lingering feelings of resentment, or guilt, we can overcome them if we set our minds and hearts to do so.
Joseph had gone through trials and temptations, yet was empowered by the Spirit of God to overcome the negative effects of them.
We pick up Joseph’s story after he had been betrayed by his brothers, sold to desert traders, taken to Egypt where he was sold to a powerful man named Potiphar - head of Pharaoh’s palace guards – Genesis 39:1-12 . . .
Well, there he was, a good looking young man, far from home, a slave in Egypt, abandoned by his brothers. His father thinks he’s dead. His future appears bleak; but, as we just read, there is one fact that should give us hope that this story will turn out well (vs. 2) “The Lord was with Joseph”! Folks:
That one fact makes all the difference – in his life and ours! Desperately we need the Lord! Yes, at our age . . . at our stage . . . at our level of maturity . . .
One of the great theologians during our lifetime, C. S. Lewis, observed a fact of human nature that we all have had to deal with at times in our lives: “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good.”
The truth of that observation has been around since Adam and Eve; and most of us would agree that Satan tempts people today in the same ways he tempted our forebears . . . Jesus in the wilderness – by appealing to human appetites . . . pride . . . desire for pleasure – not that human desire is evil in and of itself, but that Satan would have us satisfy desire in harmful ways . . .
From the very beginning, a battle has raged for the souls of men and women - a battle that has touched each and every one of us in the past, and still does; but, all things considered, in the final analysis no mature adult has anyone else to blame for yielding to temptation to sin against God but themselves.
The “urging” or “encouraging” or “prodding” that comes from without is not our fault - provided we ourselves are not the perpetrators of it; but that “inner urge” or “false assumption” or “irrational justification” that we are, by nature, prone to react to - making a conscious choice to sin against God - comes from within; it’s an individual matter.
The good news is that God always provides a way of escape if we will take it. I’m sure that you, like me, learned a long time ago that it is always wise to exercise “God’s escape option” - as did Joseph. To do so, as Joseph did, is to exercise the wisdom that comes from God.
What we learn from Joseph (also from personal experience) is that there are five principles that empower us not only to recognize but to withstand the temptations of life:
(1) When things are going well, be on guard! Things could not have been better for Joseph than to occupy a position at the side of Pharaoh’s go-to guy – a position associated with prestige and power, in a friendship that erases cultural boundaries, in charge of the internal affairs of a royal household!
At times when I thought I (we) “had it made”, reality hit hardest! What I learned was: Today’s “triumphs” are often followed by tomorrow’s trials.
(2) When you are tempted, remember who you are! Joseph seemed to be sitting on top of the world! Than what happened? A new character entered the story . . . a new challenge was faced.
“Eyes” became Satan’s avenue for deceiving a heart into making unwise choices. Persistence became Satan’s method of attack. Resistance became the Spirit’s weapon of defense. Yet, doesn’t one wonder how a red-blooded, good looking young man could say “no” to such an appealing and easy opportunity?
Wouldn’t it be that, with all he had suffered as a result of betrayal by his brothers, he now understands how destructive disloyalty would be to the one man who held him in high regard and trusted him? Instinctively, this man of mature judgment chose to remain loyal to a “brother of another mother” and his “Father in heaven”! “How could I sin against God?” says it all!
(3) When tempted, act fast! Can’t you just imagine excuses Joseph could have come up with? “The devil made me do it.” “No one else will know.” “She’s in a bad relationship.” “I have needs.” “Everybody does it.” “God will understand.”
It was one of those all or nothing situations for Joseph. Time was of the essence. His resistance was running out. Wisely and without further ado he determined that “an ounce of prevention would be worth a pound of cure.” He might have said something like, “I’d love to, but I’ve gotta go.”
Do you see the escape plan that God provided? Be courteous. Be cautious. Be courageous! Be gone!
(4) When you do right, don’t expect to be commended for it. Knowing who he was, Joseph acted on his convictions. But that was not the end of it.
Some folks are so used to having their way that they will stoop to the lowest level imaginable to have the final say; they will resort to falsehoods and unfair treatment if that’s what it takes to satisfy their ego. No different today than it was then! However:
(5) When you do right, God will honor you! (Vv. 21-23) Because of loyalty to God, Joseph lost his job, his freedom, and his reputation. He appears to be ruined. Hope has become dim due to unfavorable circumstances - which could be the case with some of you. When hope dims”
It is my firm belief that, if you remember who you are and recommit your way unto the Lord and stay loyal to Him, as did Joseph, you will one day be surprised by the joy that God will bestow upon you.
After C. S. Lewis had overcome not only the heartache of losing the only woman he ever loved, but also the guilt he felt due to his succumbing to one of Satan’s most lethal weapons of doubt - “if only I had done more” – Lewis decided to help others overcome, so he wrote that little book of reassurance entitled, “Surprised by Joy”!
There are some things worse than going to prison for doing right. One of them is to live in the prison of a guilty conscience. If you feel imprisoned by resentment or guilt, God your Father will set you free.
God is merciful. He never says “no” to anyone of His own who: admits to their wrong (whether having yielded to temptation in the past, or having carried a load of guilt all these years) and recommits their lives unto the Lord.
No need to carry that unwanted baggage anymore! Unload it! How?
Admit! Recommit! “He will have mercy and abundantly pardon”! Amen!
