The good news about the bad news

So do you want the good news first, or the bad news? 

Someone said, “Bad news.”  OK ...

Here’s the bad news: We are going to be tempted.  We will be enticed to do something that appeals to us, even though we know it to be wrong.  The allure may be to deceive, because we want to avoid confrontation ... or to take what is not ours, in order to alleviate our discontent ... or to hold grudges, so to insulate ourselves from being vulnerable again ... or to boast, assuaging self-doubt ... or to speak ill of another and get “sweet revenge.”  It’s not a matter of “if” we will be tempted, but of “when” and “how.” And, of course, “what” we will do in the face of it!

Recalling the Israelites in exodus from Egypt, the Apostle Paul observed that all proceeded forth under a spectacular pillar of cloud, but some became idolaters ... all miraculously passed through the sea, but some committed sexual immorality ... all ate the same spiritual food (manna), but some tested the Lord ... all drank the same spiritual drink that poured forth from the rock, yet some grumbled.  I think it would be safe to say that all were lured in these ways and that, while some took the bait, others resisted it.

And that’s the good news: We can stand up under temptation.  It is helpful to know there is nothing unusual about the specific types of enticement we face at any given moment; people around the globe encounter the same ones every day ... and many stand up to them.  Their trust and obedience inspire us.  We are not alone.

In fact, when we are tempted, God, himself, is right there with us ... and not just passively so, but actively engaged on our behalf!  Paul promises us in today’s reading, “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 stand up under it.”  And James assures us, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:7-8a)”

Temptation is inevitable, but deliverance is available.  The good news overpowers the bad.

[To see the daily reading, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, click here.]