today's gospel talks about the temptation of jesus by the devil. despite the latter's persistence, jesus never caved in and stood his ground. by doing so, he has taught us by concrete example that, yes, temptations abound in this earth, and yes, the devil can and will tempt us 24/7, but, at the end of the day, it is us who will ultimately make a choice whether we will give in or not.
indeed, it is not the devil who makes the ultimate decision, but you and me - in the exercise of our free will.
by nature, we are flawed and corruptible. but our principles, values, and virtues should prevail and manifest in every decision - big and small - that we make.
many of us may have fallen and, at one point in our lives, have given in to various temptations. but i surmise that all of us make a vow not to commit the same wrong, and endeavor to restore and make things right.
ahhh, temptations. they are ever present.
let me ask you, what type of temptations do you find most difficult or challenging to resist?
quidnunc posted on Feb 25, 2007
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Comments
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polarheart said on Feb 25, 2007....
My temptation is not classed as a sin, but I am a bit ashamed of it, so I will have to forego answering.
Polar
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beyondtheveil said on Feb 25, 2007....
quidnunc- The temptation to spend money and buy things thinking it would make things better, which it rarely did.This plagued me for so long. I'm much better now. -
MissMimi said on Feb 25, 2007....
beyond, I'm well acquainted with that. I'm doing it less and less.
My temptations seem to involve my desire for immediate gratification of some kind. -
secretlife said on Feb 25, 2007....
hmmm it's a toss up between the chocolate variety and the male variety....anyone have a coin? -
mom said on Feb 25, 2007....
SL- you got heads! I flipped the coin.I have many temptations and depending on my mood, determines the sin I choose. -
truthsayer said on Feb 25, 2007....
OVERLOAD, which can lead to (God forbid) apathy, indifference, ambivalence, and/or when my hermit-self seems to take over : ( -
Lucytorial said on Feb 25, 2007....
Interesting post and I simply cannot believe for one minute that there are only one or a couple of temptations that we all have succumbed to on a regular bassis.
Here are a few:
Self doubt / Self deprecation / coveting / mental desire / physical desire / self harm / vengence / jealousy...
I think we all endeavour to not be temptated to harm others or ourselves in any way and often this involves life lessons when we do. The bigger the err the bigger the lesson so good bad right wrong... temp me I have morals and ethics so I will always consult my higher self but allow me the human and god given gift of chosing for myself the lessons and the harsness/challenge of the lesson to which I may have sucumbed...
I think it's truly relative and I can't and won't feel bad for erring, to err is to be human so guilt is not a commodity I trade in.
(god that was heavy!) really good post I am thinking more and more but will enjoy reading some other responses..... :-)
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shortone said on Feb 25, 2007....
Well, Lucytorial.....do you know me???? :)Self doubt/deprectation, mental/physical desire, jealousy...alll those things I am going through right now.I am big on the self doubt/deprecation thing. I wish I could get over it. I never realized it was so sinful.I am sure I am loaded with sins I am not aware of....I never was big on church. -
Lucytorial said on Feb 26, 2007....
Shortone my point is that sin is not a natural part of human nature sin was turned in to a way to make us feel guilty for doing what as humans we must do to learn.
What do you think you are learning in the positive by your behaviour?? Do you think that maybe you need to listen to another part of yourself??
(just checked out your description of yourself)
Gathering from your life circumstances you are a little busy???? any time for you in that life of yours???
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polarheart said on Feb 26, 2007....
The original temptation that I thought of was actually quite silly and not worth mentioning really, but there is one big one that I have just thought of:THE TEMPTATION TO TRY AND EXPLAIN / JUSTIFY MYSELFRecently someone verbally attacked me here at SC, totally unprovoked. I did actually try to "defend" myself, but since asked the poster to delete my reply to the attacker. The truth needs no defending, the truth defends its self. I cannot control what people think of me, I can only be as real and as true as what I can be. -
puppyeyes said on Feb 26, 2007....
I have the urge to shop, and I buy things I dont need, already have, or really couldnt afford. But shopping is what makes me happy, and that is what really tempts me to do it. Also self doubt, chocolate, mt dew! I am sure there is more! Oh and daydreaming about hot guys who are not my boyfriend! -
quidnunc said on Feb 26, 2007....
ahhh, the urge to shop. mrs confided to me that such perhaps is the temptation that she would find most difficult to resist. but, according to her, she is able to successfully discipline herself.
i remember when mrs and i went on a golf tour in bangkok. i played golf the whole day with some friends while mrs opted to stay behind to shop around. when i went back to the hotel later that day, i was amazed to see soooo many shopping bags in our room. oh boy, it was a sight! but frankly, i don't mind because she earns her own money and the "bangkok" episode is the only splurging moment she exhibited.
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silverwhisper said on Feb 26, 2007....
i don't think that i have any greater trouble w/ any single type of temptation than another, to be honest. or maybe i just have an equally tough time with all of it?
ed -
shortone said on Feb 26, 2007....
Lucytorial - I guess I dont get what you are saying.I know I have no time for me. That has been true for a long, long time. I honestly can't do anything about that. So does that mean I am not a sinner for having the feelings I do??I feel horrible a lot of time for the blame I give to my children but it is how I feel, sinful or not. I did not go to college because I got pregnant. When I got my life in order I went back to college so I could get a decent job/career I have always wanted. Only to have to quit college once again (and with a 3.875 average) when my son was diagnosed with autism. Every time I tried to do something for me my kids or family ended up with bigger issues that made me put what I wanted to do on hold. I feel like God curses me most of the time. So I guess I became jaded to whether or not I was a sinner. If I can't even live out one self fulfilling dream what the hell does he want me to do...be happy with the shit I got?? It just doesnt seem fair.Don't know if I am a sinner or not. I know I am plagued with many of the sinful thoughts/actions/words. Though I do believe in God I don't believe he gives us what we deserve or "we reap what we sow". My life is not a friggin cliche - it is a sad tragedy IMO. -
whensnoopydied said on Mar 01, 2007....
i know that sin for me is a word used to guilt people, it would be great if everyone responded with, im sorry, confessed and changed their ways, unfortunately i think that shame is like someone said a better definition. i will say shame is wrong, shame only serves to confuse things, if you have donesomething to feel shame, then you really are just realizing that it is not productive to behave in a certain way. sin is a religious term, errors are a way of becoming aware of our humanity, and discerning between productive and nonproductive. sin is overrated, because it ties in shame, and shame is so powerful i think it keeps people from coming forward and looking for a solution to their problem. shame is a powerful thing people use against other people. i wish the sin/shame would be downplayed, and the productive/not productive would be brought to the fore front, so then all these terribly ill individuals like child molesters, rapists would recognize their problem as unproductive and think i must seek help because it upsets people, and is illegal, their shame keeps them in the shadows and has them repeating their illness. honestly someone hurt me real bad in the past, he is so afraid, a coward, of what people will say and do, he will not take responsibility, i honestly would feel so much better if he just came forward, that will never happen. when a truth is denied, it really does make you feel crazy, especially when the act is so painful to the person traumatized. it is so crazymaking to go on as if nothing happened, the other person goes on with no consequences, i would rather he feel like he wouldnt be persecuted if he came forward. i really hate that child molesters feel shame but keep doing what they do. i think sometimes if these ill monsters could come forward, they would stop and alot of those kids who get murdered would be still alive. as much as in the past i would of loved to see this person get sent away to prison, i would much rather someone be helping him out in the open, instead of them staying sick, sick, sick, and possibly committing a crime over and over again.oh yeah, as far as those who recognize that they have done wrong, say so, change, and move forward, they do not need such a word as sin, their conscious will step in, it is the ones that sin, shame will push into the shadows where they will remain only to repeat again, we cannot afford for them to feel shame, when it just pushes them to hide. productive and unproductive, you can even apply it to alcoholism,.gambling, and many more diseases, illnesses,sickness, i would rather them come forward, we would all be so much safer. i want to feel safe. -
RollingC said on Jul 12, 2007....
Hey Quidnunc.....haven't heard from you in awhile....hope everything is ok.
Rc