James 1:13-18
So, when I'm preparing for bed, and my mind starts throwing around those sexual thoughts - the fantasies of a better life and a quick solution to all of my day's problems - is it the so-called devil?
If so, what is this devil?
I grew up with this notion that every bad thing came from one source, and the cartoons I watched depicted a red, dragon-looking being with horns and a pitchfork. The words Devil, Satan, and Enemy were thrown around so much that I couldn't help but rename this malicious, invisible being the Great Scapegoat. And that's what the devil was to me. He, or it, was - and mostly is if I'm not ready to pick up a pitchfork myself and get to work - the source of all my lust, sin, and badness.
The author of James, however, has a different way of looking at this problem called lust, or the "quick-fix," or sin. He says there are two temptations partnering with whatever temptation we may be facing at any given time. And, by the way, temptation is not the act of doing wrong. If the wrong is already happening, there is no temptation. The temptation came way before when I decided to escape whatever problems I'd been facing - or, prematurely exited any tests and challenges I was facing.
The two temptations that come with that premature exit from "letting tests and challenges play themselves out" are: crediting God as the source of the test, as if God is really affected and by evil and needs to use evil to get us straight; the other temptation is crediting this red-skinned demon with a pitchfork for making us do it -whatever "it" is.
James smashes both of these conceptions. He says, "We have no one to blame but the flare-up of our own lust." In other words, while the Great Scapegoat and God may both work well for awhile when it comes to pawning off my lusts and temptations, in the end I am the one to blame for whatever problems befell me.
James goes on to compare the objects of temptation with the God who gives desirable and beneficial gifts from Heaven - this idea that there are real and lasting gifts available should I choose to not exit the game early and take an easier solution.
Although James is not only talking about the sexual kind of lust, the sexual kind applies to me right now. For awhile, I was so diluted by the incessant flare ups of my own desires, that I would look at porn and then thank God for the gift. In my mind, if I was considering it a gift from Heaven then it would all be okay. But really, what I was doing was crediting God as the source of a gift that would continue to turn its back on me, convince me it was good, and seduce me to crawl back into its presence every chance I got.
By saying "Thank you God for the gift of porn," I could justify and rationalize the "gift" that would become my enemy. In the end, there really is no one to blame but myself for both the temptation and the action.
So, what are these gifts from heaven, and how do we get them? Unfortunately, James doesn't give us any codes or instructions on how to break into that safe. But, he simply tells us that to "not prematurely exit our tests and challlenges," and to "trust God's judgment over our own" leads to full life. This full life is the opposite of the next morning hangover from whatever emotional, physical, or sexual outburst had the night before. This full life is the reward of not taking the quick-fixes that call for our attention moment after moment, day after day. This full life is what I'm after. How about you?
So, when I'm preparing for bed, and my mind starts throwing around those sexual thoughts - the fantasies of a better life and a quick solution to all of my day's problems - is it the so-called devil? If so, what is this devil?
I grew up with this notion that every bad thing came from one source, and the cartoons I watched depicted a red, dragon-looking being with horns and a pitchfork. The words Devil, Satan, and Enemy were thrown around so much that I couldn't help but rename this malicious, invisible being the Great Scapegoat. And that's what the devil was to me. He, or it, was - and mostly is if I'm not ready to pick up a pitchfork myself and get to work - the source of all my lust, sin, and badness.
The author of James, however, has a different way of looking at this problem called lust, or the "quick-fix," or sin. He says there are two temptations partnering with whatever temptation we may be facing at any given time. And, by the way, temptation is not the act of doing wrong. If the wrong is already happening, there is no temptation. The temptation came way before when I decided to escape whatever problems I'd been facing - or, prematurely exited any tests and challenges I was facing.
The two temptations that come with that premature exit from "letting tests and challenges play themselves out" are: crediting God as the source of the test, as if God is really affected and by evil and needs to use evil to get us straight; the other temptation is crediting this red-skinned demon with a pitchfork for making us do it -whatever "it" is.
James smashes both of these conceptions. He says, "We have no one to blame but the flare-up of our own lust." In other words, while the Great Scapegoat and God may both work well for awhile when it comes to pawning off my lusts and temptations, in the end I am the one to blame for whatever problems befell me.
Although James is not only talking about the sexual kind of lust, the sexual kind applies to me right now. For awhile, I was so diluted by the incessant flare ups of my own desires, that I would look at porn and then thank God for the gift. In my mind, if I was considering it a gift from Heaven then it would all be okay. But really, what I was doing was crediting God as the source of a gift that would continue to turn its back on me, convince me it was good, and seduce me to crawl back into its presence every chance I got.
By saying "Thank you God for the gift of porn," I could justify and rationalize the "gift" that would become my enemy. In the end, there really is no one to blame but myself for both the temptation and the action.
So, what are these gifts from heaven, and how do we get them? Unfortunately, James doesn't give us any codes or instructions on how to break into that safe. But, he simply tells us that to "not prematurely exit our tests and challlenges," and to "trust God's judgment over our own" leads to full life. This full life is the opposite of the next morning hangover from whatever emotional, physical, or sexual outburst had the night before. This full life is the reward of not taking the quick-fixes that call for our attention moment after moment, day after day. This full life is what I'm after. How about you?
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