Yield Not to Temptation

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” (James 1:14)

An old fish swims lazily along looking for a morsel of food - a cricket, a frog or a worm. He knows good food when he sees it and he knows good food will satisfy his hunger. A fisherman dangles an artificial minnow or other delectable looking bait in front of the hungry fish. The fish’s legitimate hunger overcomes him and he opens his mouth and swallows. He’s caught and will be in someone’s frying pan before nightfall.

God has made mankind with appetites and desires which are legitimate and not sinful if used in the way God intended, for man’s well-being. The problem comes when Satan dangles the bait in front of us and our appetite gets the best of us, as he uses it to destroy us.

Eve saw the tree in the garden that it “…was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise and she took of the fruit…” (Genesis 3:6) Satan introduced his temptation by getting Eve to question God’s Word. Adam and Eve were like two fish being lured by something that looked good but would destroy them.

God has given us prohibitions and guidelines, not to make us miserable and unhappy, but to make us have a good life on the planet He has given us to enjoy.