Of Camels and Last Straws

 

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. 

If you decide that in truth now…you’ll be prepared to escape the temptations that come your way.

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^©

Lenten Walk - Part 19

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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

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^(NLT)

Paul’s wild-child in the faith was the Corinthian bunch, a church planted in a garden that was a rampant sinful culture; it was sexually-charged, superstitious, arrogant and unrestrained.  That certainly sounds like the 21^st century in the good ol’ USA! 

The letters Paul wrote to the church at Corinth were heavy on correcting their wrong ideas about how to live the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.  And in these three short sentences we find some of the greatest (and sometimes most misunderstood) advice to any believer endeavoring to live the life in-Christ when residing in a culture that is a moral cesspool.

There is a caution: 

Paul says that human nature is now what it has always been; what is written in Scripture about those who fell into sin is there to teach and remind us of just how powerful and insidious moral failure can be.  In the current day we should not need such words; our culture would probably make 1^st century Corinthians blush!

There is a reminder: 

Paul reminds his fellow believers that God is faithful, and will not allow a temptation in your life greater than you are able to withstand.  This is one of those verses that is so-often misunderstood.  Sometimes temptation comes that is way over our pay grade.  That doesn’t mean God has laid-down his faithfulness; it usually means we have wandered off the straight path and gone looking for forbidden fruit.

There is a light:  

Notice Paul didn’t write in his letters to the believers IF you are tempted; he used the more definite WHEN you are tempted.  Temptation is a little like trials and tribulations.  You’re either in the middle of one, just come out of one, or, brace yourself because you’re about to bump-into one. 

The great reformer Martin Luther analogized temptations as the picture of birds circling overhead.  His teaching was that you cannot help it if they land on your head, but you certainly have something to say about them building a nest up there.

Temptation is a fact of life in the fallen human race.  But Paul points to the light that God will always provide a sure path to defeat temptation.  The light Paul offers in his advice to the Corinthians is equipped with the switch, so-to-speak, that is in our hands.  God will show you the way out IF you’re ready to cooperate with the Spirit and do the right thing.  If you’re pre-disposed to claiming victim status – that you can’t resist – the temptation is too strong, what you’re really saying is that Christ in you is a lie, and God’s promise is untrue.

My dear Christian friends, save the cards, letters, and emails about the power of addictions and the pitiful nature of those with poor genetic inheritance; temptation is an offer of sin against Almighty God, whom you have promised to worship and obey.  Like you, I have a carnal nature within that feels the pull of temptation.  I also have the Spirit within fighting against that nature.  Which is going to win that spiritual war going on?  The answer is much like the owner of two fighting dogs – the dog that is equipped to win is the one the owner feeds.  Feed your temptation/addiction/genetic-disposition with its cravings…or feed your spirit that which dwells on a higher plane.

For You Today

God has promised to provide a pathway through, around, or over the temptations that come your way.  The choice comes down to the straight and narrow, but sometimes really hard way…or the one our culture offers.  The choice is always ours!                         

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com