Temptation

Life is full of obstacles, not the least of which is temptation.  This can come in many shapes, sizes, colors, and disguises.  Tonight over dinner, a friend and I were discussing temptation and how it permeates everything.  It is a challenge to be pure and holy.  After reading the book 'Spiritual Combat', I see how we must prepare ourselves for battle.  It is not enough to want to be holy, rather, we must fight to be holy.  

I had read a great reflection on temptation in the Magnificat by Saint John Vianney.  He referred to Saint Gregory and Saint Augustine who both said that if you are not tempted, you are going down the wrong path.  In essence, if you are not fighting temptation you have already lost the battle and therefore will lose your soul.  Saint John Vianney continues on to say, ". . . we can say that it is one of the surest signs that we are on the path to heaven, if we are tempted, no matter how humiliating the temptation may be."

It sounds good when the saints say it, but they must be different than the rest of us, right?  They must have had some amazing willpower or strength of character to rise above such things, right?  Sorry, you and I don't get to use that excuse.  Consider this - if we go with the theory that the saints exhibited supernatural control of will, then they couldn't be humans (which they most definitely were).  So if we agree that they were regular human beings, then I think we can attribute their dedication and perseverance to a minimum of 2 basic things:  1) that their love of God was greater than the temptation, and 2) they relied on God's strength to deliver them from temptation, not their human abilities.  

We see in Scripture when Paul talks of his request to the Lord to remove the torments that keep Paul from conceit, the following response is made, "But [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  ~2 Corinthians 12:9-10

For when I am weak, then I am strong.  In our very struggle with temptation, at the time when we are at a low, God's power can shine through.  Our willingness to battle for good is such a gift to God.  If you want something, you fight for it, you work hard to achieve it.  While we may not be able to fully master our human weaknesses, we can most definitely glorify God by asking, allowing, and/or begging God to strengthen our seemingly puny efforts!  

I'm not sure that I can say I delight in weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, or difficulties.  I do, however, delight in God, so maybe there is hope.  It's not easy to be weak, nor is it desirable to appear lacking.  Yet those things can and will bring us closer to God than our human strength ever could.  In God's eyes, weak to the world = strong with God.  That's an equation worth living for.