Charles L. Dockery

James 1:13-15 & 2 Timothy 2:22 (NIV)

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God can’t be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵Then, after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.

²²Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Stay Off of “Bad Street” at Night Without the “Light” 

As a young boy I was often warned by my parents to stay off of “Bad street,” especially when it gets dark. But like all inquisitive youth, I was curious and believed that I was smart or crafty enough to venture there, and nothing would happen to me. So one evening while trying to get home in time to beat the street lights, I took a short cut through the neighborhood where “Bad Street” was located. There, it was already dark because there were no street lights. Consequently, I hit a pot hole, damaged my bike, broke my arm, and arrived home over an hour after curfew.

Two years later, older, wiser, and smarter in the ways of the street, I decided to venture down “Bad Street” again. This time it was late afternoon so visibility wasn’t a problem. However, this time while riding down the street I was chased by a mean dog. I rode until I came to a dead end where some bigger boys were hanging out, doing what bigger bad boys do. I got beat up and had my bike stolen. Failing to heed the advice of my parents got me in trouble again.

Three years later, again I was riding my bike close to the neighborhood where “Bad Street” was located. This time (finally) I turned around and went home safely another way.

How many times have we been enticed by the desires of temptation and thought we could handle it? How many times have we given in to temptation thinking that we were older and wiser, or bigger and stronger, and suffered the consequences? Temptation will always be there, but so will God. Our greatest defense is our prayer to God to “lead us not into temptation.” There are times when we can avoid the situations that cause us temptation and others when we should just run away.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he was warned to flee anything that produced an evil thought. Paul knew that an evil thought would lead to an evil desire, which would lead to an evil action, which ultimately would lead to death. When tempted to wander down “Bad Street” without the “Light of the World”, turn in the other direction, and run!

Prayer 

Father, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from the evil one. Give us a spirit of discernment that we might clearly hear Your voice. Then give us the discipline and the obedience that we may obey Your commands.

Thought for the day 

Recognize your temptations, and ask for help.