Power of Temptation

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
‘Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?’”

Genesis 3:1

The story of Adam and Eve is perhaps one that is well known to Christians and non-Christians alike. God created man and woman, Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve — all humanity — is the greatest of all creation for they were made in the very image and likeness of God. They had the enviable gift of sharing in the life of God Himself. They had the gift of sanctifying grace. They also had the gift of free choice and free will, and they chose to reject that life with God.

It would be foolish of us to ignore the power of the enemy. The devil is real and he is powerful. But we should also remember the devil is nonetheless a creature, a creature of God who has chosen to reject His love. No creature is greater than its Creator. So, the devil is powerful, much more powerful than us, and he uses our weaknesses to tempt us. The devil tempts us with lies. He promises us things that He can never really give. He tempted Adam and Eve with this knowledge, this opening of the eyes that will make them like gods. The irony in this is that Adam and Eve already possessed those gifts. They were already made in the image and likeness of God — they were like God already! As being as such, they were infused with a special knowledge that no fallen angel could give to them. Adam and Eve were tricked and tempted to receive something they already had. How often do we allow our pride and jealousy to get the best of us? What much more could we ask for? We are made in God’s very image and likeness. By our baptism we have come to share in the life of God Himself. What greater gift is there? In the fullness of time, God gave us one greater gift — Himself. He became man and died so that we might live.

The power of the devil’s temptation can cause us to reject all that we already have in the selfish hope of getting something even better and more. So, what can we do? We must reflect upon our own weaknesses. What are the things that cause me to fall? Know those well and know that the devil will prey on those weaknesses. Bring those weaknesses into the light. Bring them to the Lord. Here is a sample prayer: “Lord, I know that ‘x’ and ‘y’ usually leads me to anger and frustration and I end up feeling sorry for myself. Teach me to offer up my ‘x’ and ‘y’ and to believe that You will use them for good. As for the enemy, I reject his lies and his empty promises. Keep me close to You, Lord.”

When we bring before the Lord our weaknesses and all that causes us shame, the power of the enemy’s temptation becomes nothing. God is our strength and He is our life. The enemy seeks to bring us down but God seeks to raise us up. Let us never forget that.

Doesn’t Make Sense

“But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one as well.”

Matthew 5:39

I am confident we have all heard of the phrase, “turn the other cheek.” Perhaps we understand that as to keep quiet and just walk away when someone attacks us and provokes us. To some this is a cop out and shows that we are afraid of confrontation. To others this may be the way to avoid unnecessary pain or violence. But to Christians, this means none of the aforementioned. For Christians, “turn the other cheek” means something different: it means exactly what is written.

Could Christ really mean for us to turn the other cheek if someone slaps us on the other? Maybe so. Does Jesus really want us to take the shirts off our backs and the pants around our waists and leave ourselves indecent and exposed for all to see? Maybe so. Is Jesus serious when He says for us to help someone double the time that is asked of us? Maybe so. This doesn’t make sense. But, does love have to always make sense? Does it make sense that the Son of God became man, and not only that but also died for His creatures in the most shameful of ways — naked and exposed for all to see on a bloody cross? It doesn’t make sense, but God chose to will it. Of all the many different ways He could have shown us His love, He chose to do so in that manner. (In fact, God really didn’t have to prove to us that He loves us, but He did.) It doesn’t make sense. But that is why God did it.

To love someone who hurt us and wants us to suffer seems foolish. To greet those who slander us makes us look weak. Yet, that is what the Lord instructs us to do. To “turn the other cheek” then is not a “cop out” or a sign of avoidance from confrontation; rather it is an invitation to see the other as Christ sees them. To peer into the heart of the one who slaps us, figuratively and literally, and seeing that this act of violence is really a cry for help, the fruit of feeling unloved, the product of sin — this is what it means to “turn the other cheek.” To look upon the other with love and sitting with their pain and anguish, showing them that someone cares and that they are not alone.

We turn the other cheek because that could be the only act of love that person has experienced. Why isn’t he yelling back at me? Why doesn’t he punch me? Because he sees me. Someone finally and really sees me. Only acts of genuine love that is rooted in the love of God that can melt hearts and build relationships. So yes, to turn the other cheek does not seem to make sense, but if we look closely and dig deeper and try to understand it from the level of faith and not merely sense, we can come to understand why Jesus said what He said. We turn our cheeks because Christ first turned His when He endured the spits and buffets, scourging and crowning with thorns, the drilling of the nails into his hands and feet, and when mounted on to the Cross, looking out and seeing the people mocking Him and humiliating Him. He turned His cheek because He loved them, because He loved us. Jesus turned His cheek because only by doing so would we have eternal life.

Brothers and sisters, let us imitate Christ today and turn the other cheek.

Are You All In?

“Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.”

Sirach 15:17

When people question why God allows bad things happen to good people, the answers usually always involve “free will.” Some argue if God was all powerful why doesn’t he just stop bad things from happening? Why doesn’t He stop the earthquake in Turkey and Syria that has claimed more than 20,000 lives already? Although this last question cannot really be answered with “free will” because the tectonic plates and fault lines do not have free will. But, in other cases, such as why did God not spare the mother and child from the horrific car accident when a drunk driver swerved over the center line? The drunk driver exercised his free will to drink to the point he was impaired and decided to get behind the wheel. One may ask, but why didn’t God stop the car from turning on? Our God is not a magician or a god that does things for us in exchange for offerings. Our God is a God of relationship who loved His creation into existence and gave to the “apex of creation” — human beings, the gift of free will and free choice, and a gift as great as that comes with it consequences. In His infinite love, God gave us the freedom to choose right or wrong, life or death, good or evil, and will not interfere with our human agency because that will violate His gift to us.

In our freedom we must choose between right and wrong, good and evil, and life and death. And in the same freedom we must accept and endure the consequences that come with that decision. If I choose not to study for a test, I will need to accept the consequence that I will not achieve a perfect score. I cannot simply say a prayer in the morning and pray that my loving God will magically grant me an A because He knows this test will determine either I fail or pass the course. If that did happen, then we do not have a loving God, instead, we have an enabling genie. I do not know about you, but I will choose a God over a genie any day because the former knows us and loves us while the latter (if it did exist) simply executes a command regardless of its benefit or lack thereof to its commander.

As Christians we need to make a decision to either follow God or not to follow God. Our spiritual lives cannot be lukewarm. Jesus reminds His followers, “let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no,’” for anything else is from the evil one (Matthew 5:37). However, I must say, most Christians, myself included, are lukewarm in their faith and pursuit of God and holiness. We choose to follow the commandments of verses of Scripture that fit our own agendas but disregard those that challenge our “beliefs.” That’s not how following Christ works. We either follow Him or we don’t. For Catholics, we either follow solemnly defined Church teaching as revealed by God or we do not. And if we do not, then we are not true followers. This is the point where presumption creeps in. “Oh, I cannot follow this teaching but God will understand my situation…” Yes, He knows Your situation but He has also revealed the Truth to you in His Son. Will you allow His Truth to bring your situation into the light and bring good out of it? Do you think a loving Father will allow His child to dwell in what is harmful to him or her? God sees us and loves us but He will not enable us. Sometimes love hurts because it is doing its job of cleansing, purifying, and sanctifying.

Will we trust our loving God and choose to follow Him and dwell in His love even though it will mean trials and suffering? Will our faith in Him and His love lead us to going all in? Because at the end of the day we are either all in or not in at all. We either follow the Lord or we do not. May we ask the Lord to grant us the courage and fortitude to trust in Him and to allow Him to lead us to Himself, knowing that He too will walk with us through our valleys of darkness because He Himself was not spared the Cross.