Temptations

Today in the Gospel Jesus warns us of what makes us sin, causes us to lose heaven and sends us to eternal damnation. The devils hate hell, the place God has created for them, and try with all their might for us to follow their fate. We must not be naive about the possibility of losing our soul. We don’t see temptations but we do feel them all the time. We do what we shouldn’t be doing and we know it. There are things that are not good for us and make us lose our happiness.

We don’t like temptations but in themselves they are indifferent. They are good if we win, they are bad for us if we fall. Jesus allowed himself to be tempted, to give us an example of how to fight and to resist them. We pray every day in the Our Father: “And lead us not into temptation.” We don’t pray to get rid of temptations, but not to fall into the traps that the devil places constantly in our way.

If God allows them, it means that deep down they are good for us. They test our virtue, we show God that we love him, that we put him first above other things. They help us to mature, to become stronger, to get to know ourselves, not to trust in our own strength but to rely more on God’s help. It is a bad sign if we are not tempted; it means that we are lost and the devil isn’t interested in us. Trees grow stronger in open conditions, when they are exposed to the high winds. Soldiers get more experience and climb higher in their careers in time of war. Planes have to take off against the wind. We are tested in times of trial.

We know that God won’t allow the devil to tempt us above our strength. We always have the necessary graces to win, to resist temptations, to come out successfully. Saint Paul asked three times to get rid of a thorn he had in his flesh, and three times God answered: “My grace is good enough for you.” The question we need to ask ourselves is a simple one: What do I really want?

There is a famous story about Oscar Wilde walking very slowly on the street. Somebody asked him why he was walking so slowly. He answered with a smile: “I am flying away from my temptation and I want it to catch me.” What do you do when a big threatening dog comes towards you? Run away and climb a tree. There is a tale of a lion who was sick and invited the other animals to visit him in his cave. The fox didn’t want to go in. They asked her why was she so reluctant to see him. She answered: “I see animals going in but not one is coming out.” The lion found an easy way to find food during the time of sickness. Sometimes the best way to resist temptations is to run away from them, not to try to see how strong we are. We need to be sincere and recognise both, our weaknesses and the power of God.

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