HELLO READERS
Temptation is the feeling we get when encountered by an opportunity to break all the rules. So many people try to avoid temptation, but not always successfully because their cravings get the better of them. Some things are just too good to miss. Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans hard on the doorbell ringing loudly until someone tells it to enter and make themselves feel at home.
Temptation is a strong desire or drive to do something that is wrong, appealing, exciting but risky. It is a crazy impulse to make a choice that promises to provide short term pleasure regardless of the long-term costs associated with it. It is the greatest miscarriage of justice to do what is supposed to be the right deed for all the wrong reasons. Yet their only excuse was that they couldn’t help themselves and that life is too short to be unhappy.
We all experience certain inclinations to occasionally do something clandestine or forbidden whether it’s for material gain, unhealthy living or even clandestine meetings or romance liaisons. The sheer magnitude of desiring something or someone can evoke such force or passion that it can drive a person to gamble everything they own by making decisions that they will inevitably later regret, but by then the damage is done and it is too late. They agree to sell their soul to the devil forgetting that the debt must be repaid later with interest.
No one knows how bad they can be until they have tried very hard to be good. Only those who have tried to resist temptation know of its toxicity and destructive effects. Rarely does any good come of it because someone inevitably gets hurt along the way. Temptation is like bloodletting and can be fatal. It can either be the reason for your success or your downfall depending upon the circumstances. There is no point in praying for victory over weakness in any form if you are not willing to make a commitment to walk away and slam the door on it. In many cases, the flesh is weak.
It’s important for your sanity to cultivate inner strength, resilience and the ability to stand apart from the pathetic and other unscrupulous sorts who may try to lead you astray. Whether temptation greets you in the form of fleeting pleasure, harmful habits, or moral compromises, it will invariably test your discipline and values. Each time you choose to say no, you don’t just avoid a potentially serious situation, by also affirm your capacity for self-control and stoic disciplinarian qualities. Like any muscle that grows stronger through exercise and resistance, your character will become stronger and more resilient as you choose integrity over impulse. Leave the foolhardy to their own devices.
Temptation is often uncomfortable, yet persistent because its effects reveal a person’s character. You will soon discover whether or not they have a conscience, but beneath that perfect veneer there lies a very different story. Look little closer because when backs are turned, nothing stops them from indulging in their guilty pleasures regardless of the consequences. Some people will confront their priorities and clarify what truly matters whilst others will try to get away with as much as they dare. No one likes getting caught out, and so the lies keep flowing.
In a world driven by glamour, wealth, political power and instant gratification, temptation is exciting because money can buy virtually anything. There must be a certain charm about the forbidden fruit that makes it unspeakably desirable. Did perpetual happiness in the Garden of Eden perhaps become so mundane, lacklustre and boring that taking a bite out of that apple was justified?
There are no free lunches.
‘Lead me not into temptation, I can find the way there myself.
Tis better to shun the bait than struggle in the snare.’
LOVE AND LIGHT,
LINDA AND THE LULAS XXX
