Resisting the pull of temptation

Let me share 3 imaginary scenarios:

1. You're at a party.  There are lots of people you don't know, and you feel a little out of things.  It's not made any better by the fact that you are there alone because you and your wife aren't getting on too well and she decided not to come.  You're sitting there feeling rather isolated and sorry for yourself when, as you glance around the room, your eyes meet those of a very attractive woman.  Just for a split second you feel a spark from deep within.  Your eyes return to her and she is smiling at you; you feel an attraction to her (the male/female roles in this scenario could be reversed).

2. You're on a motorway, driving to a business meeting, and you're in a hurry.  You are due to meet a very important client, but because of delays due to roadworks, you're running late.  You feel that you ought to contact the client and tell them that you might be late for the meeting, but you realise that if you pull into a service station to make the call, that will only add to the delay.  The thought comes into your head that you could save time by using your mobile phone while driving.  You know that it's against the law, but begin to tell yourself that "just this once" won't harm anyone.

3. You're visiting a long-standing and trusted friend; as you're about to leave, the friend asks you to post an urgent letter.  It needs to be posted first class today, and as the post box is on your way home say that you will be happy to post the letter for your friend.  You arrive home and are horrified to discover the letter still on the seat next to you.  You rush to the post box, only to realise that the last post has already gone.  You post the letter, knowing that you've failed your friend.  Your friendship means a lot, and mutual trust has built up between you both over the years.  The thought comes into your mind that it might be easiest to tell your friend that you did what you'd promised; any delay can be blamed on Royal Mail.

One of the trees in our garden is a sycamore tree.  Over the years we've discovered in gardens of the various houses in which we've lived, that the sycamore is very good at spreading its seeds to make more sycamore trees.  Sue has, on several occasions, reminded me that I need to dig out the small plants before they have chance to really take root.  I was reminded of that when I came across a tiny sycamore seed just beginning to root in our current garden.  I pulled it out, but as I did so I was conscious that we also have a rather large sycamore tree in the garden.  To get rid of that one would be a very arduous and time-consuming task!  Here are images of the tiny plant (on a gardening glove) and the tree:

James gives this stark warning in his letter, 'Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death' (James 1.14&15).  It's not a sin to be tempted (Jesus himself faced temptation); the problems arise when we give in to temptation.  Whenever we face temptation, such as in the scenarios outlined earlier, we have a choice: to turn away from it or to give in to it.  It may be hard to refuse the initial enticement of temptation, but if we don't cut it off when it first arises we are likely to find ourselves drawn deeper and deeper into trouble, to an extent that we find it immensely difficult to extract ourselves.

It may be painful to resist the initial temptation, but not doing so is likely to lead to much greater pain in the future.