Since he himself has gone through sufferings and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted. Hebrews 2:18.
As a teen, Megan arrived home from school just in time to watch an hour of soap operas before doing her homework. She enjoyed the escape into the TV world and wasn't really aware that the programs were creating in her an inordinate amount of s*xual curiosity. Over months and even years of watching her "soaps," Megan's perspective on life shifted. She began to think, Relationships don't need to be pure--in fact, the impure ones seem more exciting. Fidelity doesn't matter, as long as a person is "happy."
As a college student, Megan found it easy to participate in "one-night stands." Then, after a short marriage ended in catastrophe as a result of her infidelity, she sought help from a counselor. At the outset, it was difficult for the counselor to understand why Megan had engaged in extramarital affairs. As far as her public behavior was concerned, she had been a model teenager at home, at church, and at school. Finally, the counselor discovered the source of the temptation that drove Megan to participate in her hidden life.
We can avert temptation by avoiding those things that cause it. But we are human, and no matter how careful we are, we will be tempted. Yet God always provides a way of escape.
NO TEMPTATION HAS OVERTAKEN YOU THAT IS NOT COMMON TO MAN. GOD IS FAITHFUL, AND HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND YOUR STRENGTH, BUT WITH THE TEMPTATION WILL ALSO PROVIDE THE WAY OF ESCAPE, THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO ENDURE IT. I CORINTHIANS 10:13.
Archbishop Danette M. Scott, Ph.D. A Ray of Hope Ministries Christian Center Sr. Pastor/Founder
