Temptation

This topic has been coming up a lot lately, both in our house church group and in conversation between Jill & I. Like many of my theories, I mull over them for years. I’ll get into great discussions or come across new evidence that either supports or disproves them. The typical “these are largely my own thoughts” caveat applies – thoughtful responses are welcome!

First of all, let’s define the word. Like many similar words in the “Christianese” dictionary, people have an idea how to use the word, but can’t explain what it means. This leads to confusion because we don’t always agree on what we’re talking about.

Edit: As it turns out defining this word is harder than I thought, which certainly explains the confusion. The word “temptation” can mean a few things:

“The desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise.”

Oxford Dictionary

A desire means “I want”. In this case temptation (according to the dictionary) means “I want something I should not have”. The Greek word “epithumia” means a “desire, lust, urge, impulse, or craving”, but is never translated as “temptation”. The other dictionary definition is:

“A thing that attracts or tempts someone.”

Oxford Dictionary

This refers to the object of your desire. We might say, “That cake is tempting me.” That nasty cake is testing your resolve by offering you a choice between short-term pleasure and long-term goals, just by sitting there! You now have two conflicting desires: to lose weight in the long term, or to eat the cake right now. The cake demands an answer.

Another Greek word, “peirasmos”, means exactly this kind of test! It’s always translated “temptation”, “trial”, or “test”. In the Lord’s prayer we plead “do not lead us into temptation”. This is essentially saying, “Please do not put us in situations that will test us.” It’s not a sin to go through temptation – Jesus himself was tempted:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted [peirasmos] in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.”

Hebrews 4

Although we ask God to keep us from these trials, James tells us we should consider them joyful:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials [peirasmos] of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

James 1

You can see how things are getting confusing. So far we have two Greek words and two dictionary definitions! And confusingly, somewhere along the line the Greek word “epithumia” got hijacked and lumped in with “peirasmos” in English.

Let’s go back to our cake. Can you spot the temptation?

1. The evil cake itself is the temptation!
2. Your desire to eat the cake is the temptation.
3. The test you undergo as you resist eating the cake is the temptation.

Now you can understand why we are confused when we talk about this. Here’s a verse where both Greek words come into play:

“…each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

James 1:14

That is a funny mental image. When someone is abducted, it’s against their will. But can you imagine being “dragged away” by your own desire, with your consent? When we sin, we are personally responsible, or culpable. The trial (peirasmos) we undergo is often our own fault! True, someone else can lure, entice, coax, snare, seduce, tantalize, coerce, manipulate, or bait us into sin. Someone can “tempt” you (including Satan), and that means they are making your test harder to pass. But ultimately we cannot blame the test itself, only ourselves for failing the test.

With Eve, the serpent instilled doubt about God’s commands, the reasoning behind them, and the penalties for disobedience; but also used her desire for power and knowledge, to be “like God” in forbidden ways, to entice her. And the forbidden fruit was visually appealing. Let’s sum up our definitions:

1. The serpent = dictionary definition #2
2. The fruit = dictionary definition #2
3. Eve’s desires = dictionary definition #1, epithumia
4. Eve’s test as she argues with the serpent = peirasmos

#1 and #2 are simply things that make #4 harder. Eve’s desires (#3) are not temptation at all, but her hidden motives that drive her to stick around instead of fleeing from the situation.

Now let’s talk about avoiding temptation – meaning the unpleasant time of testing (peirasmos). It is not a sin to go through, but it’s better to avoid if possible. It’s better not to play near the edge of a cliff if you don’t want to fall off.

To prove criminal culpability in court, a person must have means, motive, and opportunity (MMO) to commit a crime:

MEANS – The ability to commit the crime.

MOTIVE – A reason, hidden desire that leads to action

OPPORTUNITY – The specific circumstances that enabled the crime to happen

All of these must be in place (as much as possible in a courtroom) to prove someone guilty of a crime. When someone sins all of those things were present. Removing any one of the above will prevent sin. For instance, Jesus famously told us how to rid ourselves of the means to sin:

“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away… if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away.”

Matthew 5

This may seem drastic, but it’s that important to remove sin from our lives that merely losing an eye or hand is worth it. Also, it removes the capability (means) to sin.

For instance, if someone struggles with pornography a simple solution would be to cut all internet/wifi/data services to the home and not own a phone, computer, or TV. Drastic? Maybe, but it also removes the means to sin in that way. This is wise. A monk taking a vow of silence or poverty is similar. You can’t be addicted to possessions if you own nothing.

Removing the opportunity to sin is a constant battle, but much easier when one is proactive about habits. If an alcoholic makes sure that he never walks by the bar or liquor store, that will save him from sin most of the time. It would be stupid of him to walk by the bar every day, just hoping he will “pass the test”. There is wisdom in taking steps to avoid opportunities to sin, knowing we are often weak and often give in when we have the chance. This is why we pray for God to keep us from temptation!

Jill has struggled with gluttony at times in her life, like many Americans, and at one point she was part of a woman’s ministry where there was always lots of food – snacking and a special “break time” for eating. Jill simply decided not to go into the room with the food. Easy solution, and it worked, even if the other (mostly overweight) ladies could not understand why she wasn’t pigging out.

Removing the desire (epithumia) to sin is a lot more difficult – and also the most difficult of the three to prove in court, because it’s a matter of the heart. Rather than changing your desires, shift your perspective toward God’s ways.

Some people are simply not tempted by certain things. Why? How can they seem to be immune? How can they say no to cake?! It’s often because they are convinced that the benefits or short-term pleasure of giving in to a desire simply isn’t worth it. They have formed beliefs, habits, and a lifestyle around not feeding that desire.

When you structure your life in this way, you make it less likely that you will want to sin, and the arguments in favor of sin will seem pointless and hollow. This is very hard and takes years of continual renewing of our minds, but it’s the most effective way to avoid temptation. David did it this way:

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Psalm 119

We can also remember that Jesus himself went through, and passed, every test – and because of this he can help us best:

“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Hebrews 2

Remember, when you sin you are culpable – you had means, motive, and opportunity. If you sin, take proactive steps to remove at least one of those things in the future.