Temptation

“We believe we have all the free will in the world. We believe we overeat if the food is good or if we're really hungry. In reality, those are two of the last things that determine how much we eat." So says a research scientist at a leading university.

In one experiment, he placed candy jars of chocolate in office workers' cubicles for a month. Then, he moved the candy six feet away. Simply having the candy closer meant the office workers ate five more candies a day. That adds up to 12 pounds of candy a year.

Jesus always obeyed, but He had to learn obedience, just like you and me, because He was a real person.

Think about how hard it is to resist temptation when you face it for the umpteenth time. Sometimes it’s easy to resist the first six or seven times. But what about the sixtieth time? It gets harder and harder not to indulge your own impulses, doesn’t it?

The research scientist concluded, “We can say no 27 times, but if it's visible, the 28th or 29th time, we start saying, 'Maybe.' By time 30, 31, we start saying, 'What the heck? I'm hungry.' "

Resisting temptation is painful, it’s suffering.

Temptation is desperately wanting something that God does not want you to have.

Jesus knew what it was to desperately want something the Father did not have in mind for Him. But He never sinned in taking it.

If this post got you to thinking, please leave a comment by clicking on the word "comments" below, and join the conversation