Monday, May 18, 2009

Dissecting Temptation

Monday, May 18, 2009 -- Week of 6 Easter, Year One

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 962)
Psalms 80 (morning) 77, [79] (evening)
Deuteronomy 8:1-10
James 1:1-15
Luke 9:18-27

Life is difficult. All of the sacred texts of the enduring religions agree that life is difficult.

Each reading today offers a different angle on life's difficulties. Psalm 80 is written during a time of national catastrophe. Deuteronomy 8 reminds the people of God's protection during their wilderness experiences and warns them of forgetfulness and pride. James writes that testing and endurance are essential to faith and maturity. In Luke's gospel Jesus links Peter's recognition of Jesus as the Messiah with the necessity of the Messiah's suffering. Jesus tells his own followers to take up their cross and to save their lives by losing their lives.

I'd like to look at a portion of this opening section of James as a window into a process for confronting problems. James is addressing the trials and temptations of life. He dissects the emotional process of a temptation: "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."

I see three opportunities in this scenario. There are three distinct moments along the path to failure. We have an opportunity to interrupt the process at any of these moments and be restored to health.

The first moment is desire. "One is tempted by one's own desire." One way to minimize temptation is to let go of our desires. The less we desire, the fewer temptations we endure. Advertisers know the power of desire. They intend to tempt us to buy their product by planting desire in us. But we can be intentional and conscious about desire. We can limit our desires. We can live simply. What do I really need? Not much actually.

I know someone who lives a compelling life without a need for a cell phone or something more than a dial-up computer modem. He bicycles most places. And he has time to read and tend the yard. In third world countries I've met people who seem happier and more content than most of my neighbors even though they live with few of the necessities and none of the conveniences that we seem to think of as indispensable. Challenging desire and softening its voice is the first opportunity to lessen temptation.

The second moment of a temptation is the commentary and energy we add to the experience of a simple desire. We get stimulated; we will be stimulated. We can either simply watch the energy of the stimulation, or we can complicate it by adding energy to it. We can think about our desires; we can fantasize about the pleasures we might enjoy. We can rationalize about how we need or deserve some indulgence. There are millions of ways for us to take a simple desire and add energy to it -- to gestate and nurture a temptation until it has become huge and almost overwhelming.

But there is always the third moment: the moment of action. We act. We choose our own behaviors. No matter how much we may have desired or fantasized or rationalized, nothing actual has happened until we act. We can choose not to act.

But if we act, we still have the opportunity to repent and choose not to act that way again. Beyond simple temptation is the habitual practice that can become normalized by repetition. When we find we have failed our best intention, we still have the opportunity to turn away from the behavior and prevent it from becoming a pattern. Repeated acts become habits; habits create our addictions; addiction steals our freedom. "Sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death."

With God's grace, even addictions can surrender. As twelve-step spirituality tells us, we will continue to have desires. We can let go of them at their simplest place and find relief. Our most established addictions have a history of commentary and rationalization. We can consciously and intentionally dismantle those commentaries, replacing them with new and truer interpretations. And, just for this moment, we can simply choose not to act upon an addiction. We don't have to look further than the present moment. But right now, when tempted, we can choose not to act.

Each moment of the process that James outlines offers an escape. "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." Let go of desire. Limit commentary, fantasy and rationalization. Don't act; just be.

Let go and let life. Take it easy. One day at a time.

Lowell
_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.


Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life
We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas

2 Comments:

At 8:33 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can not help but reflect on the similarities in your morning reflection today and in the book you ( Lowell ) gave me ( simply sane ) and it makes so much since to me too.
I find myself so often getting caught up in my busy life and forgetting how I was humbled and letting pride take over, missing my morning readings that teach and guide me so much, and like this morning reading and reflection I am so glad I read and changes my entire out look on the day, bring me back to humbleness and gives me consciousness in my attitudes, desires and conduct through out the day Thank You Nathan Hurd

 
At 9:20 PM, Blogger Lowell said...

Thanks, Nathan.
I like "Simply Sane" so much. I was thinking of some of Gerald May's advice about simply observing desires and fears without feeling the need to act on them. Simply respond to the need of the moment without getting caught up in the chemicals of emotion and the commentary of control. I'm glad you've enjoyed his book also.

Lowell

 

Post a Comment

<< Home