In review of James 1:14-15 it reminds me that “We are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (GNT).
As I live for God, I find I still have temptations. It's not God who is tempting me. God will however test me, but he does not tempt me by trying to seduce me to sin. God does allow Satan to tempt me, but it’s in order to refine my faith and to help me grow in my dependence on Christ. I can resist the temptation to sin by turning to God for strength and choosing to obey his word. It's easy to blame others and make excuses for evil thoughts and wrong actions. I've used excuses such as: 1). It's the other person's fault; 2). I couldn't help it; 3). everybody's doing it; 4). it was just a mistake; 5). nobody's perfect; 6). the devil made me do it; 7) I was pressured into it; 8). I didn't know it was wrong; 9). God is tempting me. When I make excuses I'm shifting the blame from myself to something or someone else. As a Christ follower, I need to accept responsibility for my wrongs, confess them and ask God for forgiveness.
We live in an age of irresponsibility, where no one wants to admit that their problems are their own fault. We’ve all become victims. No problem we have is ever considered our fault anymore; it’s always somebody else’s problem. We blame others. We blame the government, the media, our parents, the schools, our DNA, and the environment—everything but ourselves.
The truth is that I bring most of my problems on myself. I just need to accept responsibility and quit blaming others. Every time I blame somebody else, I’m not admitting what the real problem is.
I’m never going to find freedom until I stop fixing the blame and start fixing the problem. Stop blaming others! Even when others have hurt me, it’s my reaction that’s causing the problem.
God’s will never contradicts God’s Word. If God says, “Don’t do that” in the Bible, he will never tell me “yes” through a feeling. It doesn’t matter how good the feeling is. If I listen to my feelings instead of God’s Word, I’m walking straight into a trap.
God wants me to be happy. But God wants me to be holy more than he wants me to be happy. He wants me to obey him. I will never be totally happy when I ignore God’s will. In fact, I’m heading for destruction when I do that. The rules and principles in the Bible are not there just to make life miserable. They’re there for my own good.
The happiest people in the world are those who hang on to what God says and follow it, regardless of what their feelings say.
In summary, I'm tempted when I allow myself to be drawn away and trapped by my own evil desires. These desires conceive and give birth to sin. I face temptations, but it's not God who is tempting me. God will however test me. He allows Satan to tempt me, but it's in order to help refine my faith and grow my dependence on Christ. I can resist the temptation to sin by turning to God for strength and choosing to obey his Word. It's easy to blame others or make excuses. I need to accept responsibility for my wrongs, confess them and ask for forgiveness. Seems one one wants to admit that their problems are their own fault. We like to think of ourselves as victims. Also, it's important to note that God will never contradict his Word, no matter how good the feeling is. God wants me to be holy more than he wants me to be happy. To be happy, I just need to hang on to what God says and follow it, regardless of what my feelings may bring.
Father this morning I thank you for how you want to build my character more than fulfill my happiness. I pray that your Spirit reminds me of these truths when temptation or my tendency to want to blame others for bad choices. I ask for your wisdom and guidance for my day, my work tasks, my leadership, and my interaction with others. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, Amen.
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