I was staying at a huge hotel the other day and it was packed with folks who were attending several large conventions that were being conducted there. My room was located on the very top floor and it seemed like it took me forever to get there because the crazy thing stopped at nearly every floor going up.
Recently a friend informed me that yet another famous pastor fell from grace and was forced to resign for committing adultery. He was not sympathetic to the guy at all and seemed to portray his situation as being one unique to the clergy.
I listened to him for a while and told him that what this famous preacher did was wrong, but not at all unique to the faith based community and in fact affected us all. In fact his succumbing to temptation is something that has plagued society at large and incidentally has been going on since the dawn of time.
For some strange reason this situation reminded me of getting on that elevator and trying to get to the top floor. I suppose there are times when someone can breeze all of the way to the top without stopping, but more often than not we end up stopping and starting, and stopping and starting at each floor. Sometimes we might be tempted to get off at one of the floors and stay for a while. We muddle around there for a while and then get back on and up we go to the next floor and when the door opens we see something appealing and step off again. The process repeats itself again and again and again.
Imagine each floor containing some type of temptation. As the elevator begins to head for the top floor, it unexpectedly stops and the door opens and there sits a voluptuous blonde with glass of wine in hand. She smiles one of those “I want you and I want you NOW!” smiles and the next thing you know you’ve stepped off the elevator and are wickedly smiling back at her. Just then you notice the name of the floor and it states: Lust Floor.
Or maybe you skip that floor, but on the next stop you see several admirers standing there who recognize you and begin to grovel over you. Before you know it you get off at the Pride Floor to bask in the praise of your admirers.
Or maybe you ignore that floor and the elevator continues but when the door opens you see a buffet line fit for a king and you say to heck with my diet and before you know it you are gorging like a hog on holiday; you look at the name of the floor and it’s named: Gluttony. As the elevator continues it stops at the Coveting, Greed, Jealousy, Liar, Gossip, Hatred, Drug Sniffing & Alcohol Slurping floors; it seems there is something for everyone.
Hmmm . . . Some of those temptations might delay our ride to the top floor indefinitely. Oftentimes in life it is not easy to get to the top floor where you can enjoy God’s rest, peace, joy, and true love.
While temptation is not just limited to the rich, famous, or powerful folks; undoubtedly they are tempted beyond measure. A pastor in a big mega church is no different than a famous football player, author, athlete, movie star, or hugely successful business person. Women who love to be around powerful men are attracted to them, as are other admirers, hangers-on, and groupies. Often they make enough money to suffer the plagues associated with having wealth such as idol worship of money and material things and an abundance of other offerings and lusts.
Lest you be smug, it isn’t just the rich and famous that experience temptation, heck we ALL face temptation every day.
So what to do?
Well we could close our eyes, and put our hands over our ears and yell Nah! Nah! Nah! through muffled lips constrained by duct tape; whereas we are like the proverbial three moneys that see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, and presumably do no evil, or we can take the wise advice offered in the Bible and resist the devil and make him flee from us.
The problem I find is that temptation is . . . well tempting! I suppose my great, great, great to the thousandth power granny Eve fell for the same ploy. Even the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. Or what about David who committed adultery and then had her husband killed. Yikes! When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba he wrote: Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me . . .
I feel like Paul and David when I sin. I hate sin, but often I find myself cussing like a sailor or doing something else stupid. It is frustrating; (maddening really) . . .
While sin cannot separate us from the love of God; (He described David as a man after His own heart) there are consequences and we must try our utmost to avoid it. Matthew Henry said something about this subject that seemed to hit me and I’m paraphrasing: Sin living in a man, does not prove it rules his life, or has dominion over him. If a man lives in a city, or in a country, does not mean that he rules there.
I suppose this is a little deep but what I get out of this is that sin lives in us all, but it does not have to RULE our lives. While we might not want to cohabitate with sin we have no choice until God calls us home and perfects us, but we can fight it daily.
What is clear from studying the Bible for over four decades is that sin has consequences which are not appealing. Sin leads to miserable sad lives and can even lead to death such as a DUI car crash or a bullet in the head of an adulterer from an enraged spouse. More often than not sin can lead to utter devastation of lives like the case of the famous preacher losing his family, the trust of his congregation and friends, and being forced to step down from the ministry that he loves and subjected to shame and humiliation at every turn. Oh and don’t forget living with the guilt . . .
I don’t know about you, but I want to get to the top floor. I’m committed to trying my utmost to get there just as fast as I can. I hate delays, but if I accidentally get off on the wrong floor, I will get back on the elevator and keep heading up. I’m not going to get on the next elevator down as I used to do before I knew Christ. I fear the Lord and want to hang on Him during temptation. It is the only way to win against it . . .
Again I quote Matthew Henry: Carnal desires gain strength by indulgence, therefore should be checked in their first rise . . . God will make a way to escape; he will deliver either from the trial itself, or at least the mischief of it. We have full encouragement to flee from sin, and to be faithful to God. We cannot fall by temptation, if we cleave fast to him. Whether the world smiles or frowns, it is an enemy; but believers shall be strengthened to overcome it, with all its terrors and enticements. The fear of the Lord, put into their hearts, will be the great means of safety.
Make sense?
Does to me . . .
1 Cor. 10:12
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
May 28, 2014 – Click here to listen