Temptation and Evil

James 1:12-16

As we continue our conversation on temptation and the Lord’s Prayer, James goes on to tell us that temptation is evil at work within us to bring our natural desires into unnatural action. We read: But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved.

            So, temptation is natural desire grown huge or grotesque. This misshapen desire becomes sin and the consequence of sin, biblically, is death. God does not do this. Evil does this. The Devil takes what is natural and twists it or exaggerates it into sin. The Bible is consistent: sin is our natural inclination or desire that has been turned inward to serve ourselves no matter what. This can mean that we serve ourselves at the expense of our relationship to God, or at the expense of our relationships with those we love. The exaggeration of temptation is in the inflating of my desire or wish without appropriate concern for the outcomes in the lives of others. The immediacy of temptation is the problem. It overwhelms the spiritual perspective that puts it within a larger and healthier context. It’s the exaggeration of desire leads to death.

Ultimately this is the source of our mortality. In a more immediate sense, it leads to death as separation from the best of ourselves, from others and from God. Since God has come in Jesus to both invite us to become the best of ourselves and, in the process, destroy such a separation, God cannot and does not “lead us into temptation.”

Discipleship lesson: Sin is often a holy desire grown grotesque and it’s consequence is the isolation of selfishness.

            So, what’s to be done about the Lord’s Prayer? Well, some would have us immediately use the new language for the sake of its theological and biblical accuracy. I’m not so sure. I prefer the poetry and “heart talk” of the old language, but I also know that when I pray, lead us not into temptation, I’m asking God to help me endure temptation so that I can pass the test, as James says.