Tuesday,
March 16, 2021
If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
These
verses always remind me of the saying, the straw that broke the camel’s
back. It is descriptive of a
final added weight which causes a mortal stumble.
The
truth of a saying can certainly be found in its long use by many people, but in
(too many) cases, public opinion is wishful thinking, not bedrock truth. The truth of the camel’s poor back is relative
to dynamics of physics. There is a tipping-point
at which the strength of a camel’s legs, back, and will to stand cannot support
the weight of even one last straw…and he must sit down or fall down.
There
is another saying, a cousin to this camel sagacity, God will never put more
on you than you can bear. You
hear that in times of trouble. It’s
intended to bring some hope for a cure, solution, or help from some unknown
source. It’s intended as theological wisdom,
an appeal to trust in God, the One Who knows your frame, that we are dust, and in
His providential care. But the saying
fails for lack of context.
That
context is the apostle’s statement to the Corinthian believers, a group so
steeped in superstition and pagan practices, they were their own worst enemies
when it came to following Jesus. Paul
was telling them there was hope for their weak stand against the temptations to
sexual perversion; there was an answer for their soul’s desire to serve God
with pure hearts and lives. Paul was
reminding them that the choice to yield was in their power because God is
stronger than any temptation the enemy can devise.
And so
there is a difference between times of trouble, when a loved one dies, or a job
is lost, or health goes wanting…and times of temptation, when avarice grows, or
desire beckons, or truth slips into the shadows. The difference is in human control as opposed
to surrendering to the will of God. Jobs
or health lost, or a friend dies…these are above our pay grade. We have no choice for the weightier
happenings of life and death. For these testings
we can trust God’s leading, compassion, and, sometimes, miracles. In temptations it is a
reverse setting; this is when God is trusting us to yield on the side of godliness. Temptation is an opportunity to sin,
not another straw heaped on the camel’s back.
The prime
example for our instruction and empowerment is Adam and Eve. In the Garden of Eden THE
tempter offered the opportunity of a lifetime.
The entirety of humanity on earth at that time CHOSE
to take what was in front of them, despite God’s provision of choice to say “no”. It was within Adam and Eve’s power to choose;
it wasn’t some overwhelming turn of life, a straw of adversity heaped on an
overburdened life. It was their will,
choosing their way, over God’s.
Therein
is the rub…and it has always been thus…we can, as the Burger King commercial
reminds us, have it our way, or we can do it God’s
way; we just cannot have both.
For You Today
Overcoming temptation isn’t a matter of waiting for
God to do something about all He’s placed on your back; God is expecting you to
say “no” loudly, and clearly. God is expecting you to seek God’s way of fleeing
whatever is tempting you. Just don’t wait until you hear ol’ Slewfoot
approaching in your garden; decide now, in the light of day, that your life,
your body, your heart and hands belong to God.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky
Road; have a blessed day!
[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
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