It seems that from infancy we are tempted. I have a newborn in the house and it has been fascinating to watch her go one from phase to the next. She recently found her hands and those things are in her mouth constantly now. I pull her little hands away, and half a second later they are back. Childhood developmental specialists may disagree, but I see a little gleam in her eyes when she stuffs her phalanges back into her gummy recesses.
I don't truly know when temptation starts but I do know, as human beings, we will spend most of our lives battling it. Whether it's to have that extra potato chip (or two, or twelve more) or to watch that extra hour of television when you need to go to bed. It seems to be an ever present force in our lives.
Finally it occurred to me that the best way to avoid temptation is to eliminate the triggers that cause the condition. I have a Facebook account and found that I was checking it far too often. It wouldn't be such an issue but I have three novels started and obviously they are not finished. Although I have a lot of friends that I talk to only on that medium, due to my misuse I decided to cancel my account.
I have been Facebook free for almost two weeks now and it has been a truly liberating experience. I had no idea how much I had been checking my account throughout the day. It has inspired me to remove one temptation at a time. I now turn off the coffeemaker after drinking two cups of coffee for the day. I also liked to have a couple glasses of wine to relax on the weekend and I've replaced that with seltzer water.
I would be lying if I said I've removed all temptations from my life, those are just a few (chocolate mmmm...yummy chocolate). I truly believe that as human beings we should strive to be the best we can be. Life should be an evolution. Our spiritual health is the foundation for everything else. We need to be strong on the inside before working on the outside, otherwise we risk building a house on sand.
Having a strong relationship with God is essential. The best analogy is to think of yourself as a computer. On the surface you look operational but on the inside you may be filled with viruses. You've been moving sluggishly and didn't know why. These viruses or negative spiritual entities have attached themselves to you, causing a system slow down. God is a lot like the administrator, the only one with access to clear your hard drive and install a firewall for your mind. You could try to do this on your own but if you miss one or two viruses than your whole computer is still at risk.
I am removing what I can, as far as temptation, but only God has the necessary access to clear out the rest. I hope that as my child grows that she is not faced with too much in the way of temptation such as drinking or smoking (or ugh, the dreaded boy problems). I know I can help her by relating my own personal experiences and only her strong relationship with God will keep all of that at bay. But at this stage of her life all I can do is to patiently remove her hands from her mouth and know that it will probably happen again. :)
