Monday, May 28, 2012

know what tempts you…

now to keep from falling into the traps of persistent temptations  you need to predetermine your pattern of temptation. what do i mean by that?

every one of us have unique patterns in the way that we live.  you have a unique fingerprint.  you have a unique thumbprint.  unique palm print.  you have a unique eye print, unique footprint, voice print.  you heart beats in a very unique pattern.  it’s different from everyone else’s heart around you.  nobody’s heart has ever beat just like yours. 

and just as that’s true of you physically it’s also true of you emotionally and spiritually. 

there are certain things that tempt you more than other things.  we all have the same temptations but they come at us in different ways depending on your personality, your background and a lot of other things. 

for instance i have never been tempted to smoke.  it just isn’t interesting to me.  i’ve never had a cigarette in my mouth.  i’ve never wanted to, it’s just doesn’t make sense to me.

when i was younger i was at a drug seminar at the university of kansas and they asked a large room of us how many had never smoked and i raised my hand and they asked me why and i said, i thought it was dumb to suck smoke down into my lungs.  it just didn’t make sense.  after the session a big catholic priest come and asked me, so you think i’m dumb?  we had an interesting discussion. 

but on the other hand, donuts, anything sweet is a huge temptation for me.  i love vanilla cream filled donuts from dunkin donuts and big cinnamon rolls with butter on top from cinnabon.  i love hot glazed donuts from krispy kream. i love sweets.  that is an area that affects me.   you can tempt me with sweets.

maybe that doesn’t affect you.  maybe you can take it or leave it – whatever.  but you have a unique susceptibility to certain temptations.  in other words, certain things tempt you and others don’t. 

my dad and mom never smoked but they really liked sweets.  my mom’s cinnamon rolls are out of the world. 

you need to know your pattern of temptation.  for certain the devil knows.  he knows what uniquely trips you up.  he knows it better than you do. 

you better know what trips you up because if you don’t it’s like going into a war with a blindfold on.  every day the devil is trying to trip you up, trying to mess you up, trying to trap you and if you don’t know what weakens you, what tempts you, you don’t know how and why and when and where it happens then you’re going to be driving into a blind alley.  you’re going to hit dead ends.  you’re going to be putty in the hands of the devil because you’ve never thought it through and he knows what’s going to tempt you. 

just a thought from the front porch…

No comments: