Proverbs 23:17
“Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.”
When I was a young boy, I’d be walking in the mall with my family, watching television or riding in a car and hear someone say, “look down”, “look to the right/left”, “close your eyes”, or something like this. There was something that was in my view that I needed to keep my eyes away from. This may be a reference to a particular kind of sin and temptation, but this is how every Christian should respond when any form of temptation presents itself.
We often want what we can’t have or don’t have. Serving God is great. Salvation is a blessed gift. Why then do we find ourselves wanting what we know to be to our detriment if we were to give in? It’s human nature to lust after sin. While this may be normal to experience, it is not permissible to give in to the urge to have everything you want.
C. S. Lewis said, “Love is the great conqueror of lust”. Fearing God always is the constant reminder that you want God’s best and you certainly don’t want His punishment. Some think that as long as they don’t act on it, they can let their minds wander. The instruction that God gives is for you to overcome sin when it begins in your heart to want it. Don’t wait for the temptation to come up right in front of you. Win the battle of the mind, don’t allow yourself to even look at what you shouldn’t have, and you’ll have victory. Win the battle early and look the other way when sin pops up before your eyes and in your heart.
Wisdom for the Day: Temptation should be won at the moment that it presents itself. Look the other way immediately. Don’t allow your heart and mind to ponder sin before you decide on what to do with it.