Temptation.  It goes hand-in-hand with discipline.  How do you keep yourself disciplined against temptation? Kind of a, “Which comes first; the chicken or the egg” scenario.  Do you get disciplined after you’ve given in to temptation OR do you discipline yourself AGAINST temptations?

*In this text, “temptation” equals anything you know you should not do, say, see, hear, taste, etc.  In this text, “you” equals you and me.

I’ve been thinking a lot of temptation lately.  We are all surrounded by temptation all day every day.  Be it physical or spiritual, and a lot of times both.

Take my puppy, for instance. I get so irritated with her!  She knows she’s not supposed to chew on my son’s binkies.  I know she knows it’s wrong because she takes them under our bed to hide while she chews.  She does it anyway.

My son -- he knows he’s not supposed to play in the puppy’s water bowl.  I hear a splash and a giggle coming from the kitchen.  All I have to do is say my son’s name to which he yells back with an, “EH!”  That’s toddler talk for “Don’t-tell-me-what-to-do!”

Why is it so tempting do things you’re NOT supposed to do?  Let’s take this more on a health/fitness standpoint.  You know you shouldn’t eat that second helping.  You may know you shouldn’t eat it AT ALL!  Why do you do it anyway knowing you’ll feel icky afterwards?  You know you need to get your workout in today.  You know you’ll feel better after you’ve gotten it done.  So why would it tempt you to skip if you know you’ll feel better afterwards?

The power of temptation is not external; it’s internal.  Whoa. 

James 1:14 says “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”  The verse before that says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.” 

1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 

And I say, “But God?  Have you ever tried my sister’s baking?  I think her chocolate chip cookies qualify as temptation beyond what I can bear!”  But seriously, I’m not trying to make a mockery of God’s word (only make bad jokes) and nor am I trying to say chocolate chip cookies are of Satan and the Bible tells us we should steer clear of them.  I simply want you to think:

What tempts you from being your best?  How can you positively discipline yourself BEFORE you’re tempted so that you won’t be negatively disciplined AFTER?