Temptation is an enemy that greets you like a close friend. It always wears a warm smile, always knows what to say, and always laughs with that mischievous “won’t this be fun?” twinkle in the eye—until you give in. After that, the spark of excitement begins to fade, chilled by the steadily encroaching cold of condemnation until it freezes hard into an icy, straightforward demand: Feed me. And again, this time shouting,
FEED ME.
NOW!
And the more you feed it, the stronger it grows. And the more it eats you, the weaker you become, and the harder it is to think of yourself at all without the monster that’s growling, shaking the bars of your rib-cage, breaking the chains of your self-control, eating every good intention for breakfast.
People talk about resisting temptation. How exactly does that work?
Not very well, in my experience—at least, not if you try to face it head on and just say “no” and “no” and “no” over and over again until you’re worn ragged and hoarse and half-mad from the relentless effort. There is, of course, no way around the fact that resisting temptation requires effort. But I believe there is a better way to focus and expend that effort than to simply lock eyes with your temptation and see who blinks first. This approach grants your temptation one of its primary demands: your attention. You don’t have to do that.
You can look away.
Hebrews 12 begins with this encouragement: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
There is a recognition in these verses that temptations and sins and all manner of things really can hinder us, and entangle us, slowing us and tripping us and causing us all sorts of problems. But even with all of that going on, the eyes are not focused on the entanglement. They are relentlessly fixed “on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
The best way to resist temptation is to fix your eyes firmly on the One who already defeated it. The One who is a true friend, true King, true Saviour—whose smile is not fake, whose love is not pretence, whose promises are not hooks baited with slippery, sparkly lies. Run towards his open arms, and you will find in his nail-scarred hands everything you ever needed. Fix your eyes on the brightness of his glory, and every glimmering pretender will grow strangely dim in comparison. Temptation will always have the advantage in a staring contest. Jesus alone is the pioneer of victory, the perfecter of faith, the conquerer of every enemy, every sin, every temptation—for those who look to him. Every step you run towards him will be a step away from sin. Every thought captivated by his greatness and goodness will be a thought freed from selfish pride, lust, and discontentment. The best way to fight temptation is to stop staring at it so much and bracing yourself for it so much and turning it over and over in your mind so much and instead start fixing your eyes and your heart and your feet to run, run, run with everything you have to Jesus.
sethlewis.ie 