By Neil Earle
The other night I tuned in to a Christian television show whose subject was “Will Power.” Great, I thought, as a man with a lifelong weight problem and the holidays to face I can always use more help with that.
However, I was quite let down. The people seemed to talk a lot without saying very much. That sometimes happens, doesn’t it? Well for those like me who need help in fighting daily temptations here’s some points I gleaned from a book I helped edit called, “Mending Broken Relationships.” The book is available from atimetoreconcile.org. Maybe these points can help you.
First, it’s good to get the overview. Temptation is a reality in the Christian life. It cannot be avoided but, as Martin Luther said, if we cannot stop the birds from flying overhead at least we can stop them from besting in our hair. Note this seven-fold strategy, a facet of having a pre-thought battle plan on an ongoing basis:
What? Yes. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says God will make a way of escape in every temptation we face. Counselees in recovery programs are told that temptation represents a chance to apply what they have been learning. Wrong thoughts are almost unavoidable but the thoughts don't have to turn into actions. Note the process in James 1:13-15 and learn from it.
Sin is often a matter of idolatry – thinking something physical will solve a spiritual ache or loss. It won’t. Nothing really satisfies except a relationship with God. That relationship must be constantly built and activated. A Christian who is praying is putting on the armor of God that guards against temptation. Try it and see next time those urges start to stir.
Emotions are wonderful things but they are fragile and temporary. Feelings mist flow from thought and not vice versa. Not everyone “feels like" getting up in the morning but after getting started it is not so bad. Most people are pushed around by emotions, impulses, random thoughts. At Gethsemane Jesus had to master his feelings of wanting to flee. Often we feel life has handed us a raw deal so I’ll give in to that temptation. One friend put it, “I’m owed, I’m owed, it’s off to sin I go.” Short-circuit those emotions by substituting them with Scriptures. James 1, Blessed is the man who masters temptation, etc.
The church has been called the only army that shoots its wounded. How sad. God has provided other people to be there for us when needed. Jesus wanted his friends around him in the garden of Gethsemane and was upset when they let him down (Matthew 26:38). In 2 Corinthians 8:1-4 Paul praised the Macedonians for “ministering to the saints” – this is a ministry we all have. In the grip of sin’s power, it’s often good to have a friend to call. This is the principle behind AA and NA and their sponsorship program.
How much time will God give us to overcome our habits and addictions? As much time as it takes. Note Hebrews 13:5. Gods throne is called the mercy seat not the electric chair. We are saved in this hope (Romans 7:24-25). Yet fear and guilt undermine many sincere programs of overcoming – “I’m so bad, God could never forgive me.” Not true! Within limits, God is in the forgiveness business. That, and doing the impossible, is his specialty. He wants to use us as “trophies of his grace.”
We must learn to replace bad habits with good. What would you recommend for the problem drinker who drives past the bar on his way home and gets lit up for the night? The Bible says to "overcome evil with good” rather than being hypnotized with excessive thoughts of facing the problem. One minister I know in trying to break the smoking habit had a Bible verse or motivational saying placed in his jacket pocket right where the cigarettes used to be. You can think of others.
This is the tough part. In all cases of entrenched sin there is a pattern that leads up to it – loneliness, self-pity, social failure and rejection. We must activate our will power but that is always secondary to the advice given in Philippians 2:13 – “it is good who works in you both to will and to do.” For the Christian, there is no overcoming without abiding in Christ. He is the source of the will and desire we need to win out over temptation. Ask him for help – thousands of people do it every day and find the help to overcome. You can be one of them.