Learning from Those Who’ve Failed
The first few chapters of the Bible give us good insight into the
ways that sin & temptation work. Adam and Eve fail. Their children
and their grandchildren after them fail. How was it that sin worked to
bring them down and what can we learn?
Here are just a couple practical suggestions for fighting temptation as gleaned from Genesis 3-4.
1. Get Outside Perspective
The power of temptation is bound up in the moment. In the rush of
debate, Eve didn’t pause to consider the ramifications of questioning
God’s words. She didn’t ask Adam, ‘Hey what did God actually
say anyway?’ Still less did she think to herself, ‘Maybe we should ask
God for some clarity on why we can’t have the fruit from this tree.’ But
part of the lure of the temptation to sin is the seductive voice that
says, ‘You determine right & wrong for yourself. You make your own
laws.’
In our world, getting outside perspective
is still humbling. Removing yourself from the moment of temptation to
ask a friend or someone that you trust for some perspective means that
we don’t have the answers or the capacity to determine right & wrong
on our own. It means we’re not God. But that’s probably why it’s a good
first step. Continue at
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