Short Armed Temptation

            I’ve discovered a physical phenomenon regarding aging.  Our arms grow shorter over time.  My proof?  I can no longer hold objects far enough away from my face for them to come into focus.  Obviously, unbeknownst to me, my arms have shortened.  It can’t be that my eyesight is deteriorating.  That only happens to people who are growing older.

Having lived the majority of my life with great eyesight, I am learning the frustration of becoming visually challenged.  What were once simple tasks are now accompanied by the annoyance of finding my glasses (they always seem to crawl away and hide as soon as I set them down) and putting them on.

As much as I am irritated with my developing far sightedness, I am thankful for it when it comes to temptation.  Temptation works best on near sighted people.  Let me explain.  In order for one to be tempted, the desire to experience something must be greater than one’s reservations against it.  To do this, temptation must center a person’s interest on the immediate experience while avoiding any inference of future results.  Those with near sighted spirituality are accustomed to looking at the present without considering the future, an act that can cost dearly.

Think back over those temptations to which you have succumbed.  How long did it take, after you gave in, for you to realize there was more to the experience than what the initial temptation suggested.  Sin, despite what the initial enticement suggests, will not confine itself to the initial experience.  Its repercussions continue far into the future, sometimes for life.

The Apostle Paul reassures us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God remains in control of our temptations, limiting their power upon us, as well as providing a means of escape.  Where he does not describe this escape mechanism, I am convinced it is a pair of spiritual spectacles providing the ability to see beyond the temptation, to the end result.  In this way, the ends help to prevent the means.

As annoying, as it may be to carry, clean and put on glasses each time one wants to see something, the experience is still better than not being able to see what we should.  This is especially true with our spiritual walk through life.  When temptation comes, pull out your God given specs so you can see the whole picture.  In doing so, you will discover the scene takes on a different view.  The glamour will diminish and reality will come into focus.

Pastor Mark