Just like most of us, I have been stuck at home for the past seven days! No going out of the gate, no driving around, no going to the grocery, or buying medicine. No going to the ministry center of the church, no going to the mall, no eating out. No date with my wife, no fellowship with other believers, no Sunday worship!
We just stayed home.
I wanted to be the one with the quarantine pass so that I would have an excuse to go out of the house during this community quarantine lockdown. But my kids didn't want me to go out because I am a sort of high risk to get the virus. So my eldest son got the pass.
So I've been on lockdown for seven days.
I was tempted to break the rules though...twice.
First, I found out that members of the clergy were exempted from the lockdown IF they were going to go out and visit a parishioner who was sick, and pray for them. All they had to do was show their ID. So I wanted to have a church ID made so that I could have an excuse to go out. But I was convicted by the Lord, because I wasn't going to use it for the right reason, and just for the reason of going out and doing what I wanted. So, it didn't happen. It didn't feel right.
Then, today, I wanted to ask if there was a way for me to get an extra pass, so that I could go out. Of course that is breaking the rules, because only one per household was allowed to have a pass. That plan eventually fizzled out. I was going to break the rules, only one member of the household should have a pass...and I couldn't do it. It didn't feel right.
My God's name, and my testimony as a Christian and pastor was on the line.
I was tempted to do it. I almost did, but thank God He got me out of it. And what a great feeling it is to overcome temptation, and walk in the righteousness that God has for us.
What a subtle thing temptation is. But it's something we need to be conscious about.
James 1:13-15 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. (14) But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. (15) Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
How subtle temptation works in us. It's simple. Our bodies are tempted by evil, no matter how simple that evil is. And because we are a sinful people, there is "evil" in our bodies that we are tempted to do. Our bodies lust for it, it carries us away and entices us, until we eventually sin.
Temptation in itself is not sin. But it's what leads us to sin. The good news is - we can overcome it.
My temptation was simple, very subtle. In fact there are some reading this who will argue that what I was tempted to do wasn't really sin, or "sinful". But for me I was tempted to break the rules of the ECQ. I was tempted to do something that I wasn't supposed to do. And if I actually did it, for me that would have been sin.
There are so many other grave sins that our bodies lust after. Even as Christians, living this new life we have in Christ, we are still in our sinful bodies. And there will be times when we will be tempted to do the evil that we used to do when we weren't with the Lord yet. Temptation will always be there. But by God's grace and strength we can overcome it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Just as there is evil working behind every temptation, God is also there working "behind the scene", behind the temptation, showing us the way out, giving us the grace and strength to be able to overcome the temptation. And what a joy it is for a Christian to know that he/she has overcome temptation and live the righteous life God wants us to live.
It just feels right.
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