Temptation

Last week my wife, Caroline, bought ice cream.  This little fact may seem inconsequential to you--but it is a significant issue for me.  I love ice cream.  One of my favorite things to do in life is scoop myself a big bowl of ice cream, recline on my sofa, and watch a rerun of Seinfeld.  I am a simple man with simple pleasures.  However, in spite of the enjoyment ice cream brings me, I do not want it in my house.  We make an effort to not keep ice cream in the freezer because I know that I am not yet strong enough to resist the temptation it brings.  Undoubtedly 11pm rolls around, my feet are propped up on the couch, Kramer stumbles into Jerry's apartment, and I can hear the chocolate chip-cookie-dough calling my name--within seconds I am back on the couch, ice cream in hand.

Temptation . . . it comes in all shapes and sizes.  But how are we to deal with it?

Genesis 39:1-20 tells us the story of how Joseph responded to temptation.  The story goes like this: Joseph is the lead servant in his master's house.  One day his master's wife comes onto him wanting to sleep with him.  A close reading of the text reveals Joseph's 3 tiered response to this sexual temptation.  The first time she tempts him he refuses and explains to her his reasons for resisting (v8-9).  However, she keeps pressuring Joseph day after day to sleep with her, he continues to refuse, while in verse 10 we see tier 2 of his response--"he kept out of her way as much as possible."  By this time Joseph had learned that to simply refuse her was not an effective strategy, so he stepped it up a notch, and tried his best to avoid her.  Unfortunately, this woman had nothing better to do than pursue Joseph so she trapped him one day when no one was around--she grabbed his coat and demanded that he sleep with her--and at this Joseph stepped up to his third level of response and ran away leaving his coat in her arms.  The story continues and Joseph ends up in prison being falsely accused of sleeping with his master's wife.  But what stood out to me in the story is Joseph's strategy when it came to resisting temptation.  First, he said no and thoroughly explained himself. The pressure was even stronger so Joseph avoided the source of the temptation.  The tempter cornered Joseph and he ran away.

Life poses us countless temptations in a day.  Many we can simply say no to, but when we learn that a no will not work we need to avoid these situations, and when avoidance is inevitable we need to swallow our pride and run.

I am not sure what this means for my ice cream issue.  I have said no, and tried to avoid it--I purposefully don't bring it into my house.  But it seems to be cornering me, so I guess I need to run away.  I hope Caroline doesn't get the wrong idea, but I am going for a run. . . .