- Joined
- Feb 9, 2004
- Messages
- 17,081
On Temptation and Testing
I know about the despair of overcoming chronic temptation. It is not serious, provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience, etc. don't get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and clean clothes in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of his presence.
(C.S. Lewis, Letters)
Meet (temptations) at the door as soon as they knock, and do not let them in. One simple thought can enter the mind and start the process. The process starts like this. First, the thought is allowed to enter into our minds. Second, the imagination is sparked by the thought. Third, we feel a sense of pleasure at the fantasy and we entertain it. Fourth and finally, we engage in the evil action assenting to its urges. This is how, little by little, temptations gain entrance and overcome us if they are not resisted in the beginning. The longer we let them overcome us, the weaker we become, and the stronger the enemy is against us.
(Thomas á Kempis)
Sometimes it is good that we put up with people speaking against us, and sometimes it is good that we be thought of as bad and flawed, even when we do good things and have good intentions. Such troubles are often aids to humility, and they protect us from pride. Indeed, we are sometimes better at seeking God when people have nothing but bad things to say about us and when they refuse to give us credit for the good things we have done! That being the case, we should so root ourselves in God that we do not need to look for comfort anywhere else.
(Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ).
I know about the despair of overcoming chronic temptation. It is not serious, provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience, etc. don't get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and clean clothes in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of his presence.
(C.S. Lewis, Letters)
Meet (temptations) at the door as soon as they knock, and do not let them in. One simple thought can enter the mind and start the process. The process starts like this. First, the thought is allowed to enter into our minds. Second, the imagination is sparked by the thought. Third, we feel a sense of pleasure at the fantasy and we entertain it. Fourth and finally, we engage in the evil action assenting to its urges. This is how, little by little, temptations gain entrance and overcome us if they are not resisted in the beginning. The longer we let them overcome us, the weaker we become, and the stronger the enemy is against us.
(Thomas á Kempis)
Sometimes it is good that we put up with people speaking against us, and sometimes it is good that we be thought of as bad and flawed, even when we do good things and have good intentions. Such troubles are often aids to humility, and they protect us from pride. Indeed, we are sometimes better at seeking God when people have nothing but bad things to say about us and when they refuse to give us credit for the good things we have done! That being the case, we should so root ourselves in God that we do not need to look for comfort anywhere else.
(Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ).
