No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.     1 Corinthians 10:13 HCSB

Sin entered the universe in Genesis chapter 3. It is believed that Adam and Eve were overcome by temptation within a week of the creation. God didn’t overlook their sin, He imposed some pretty harsh penalties for it that not only effected them but would effect generations to come.

I worked for 27 years in law enforcement. I spent 22 of those years in the Department of Corrections, where I am sad to say that I saw very little correction. Criminal behavior is like this revolving door that just keeps spinning around. Offenders would go in and out of prisons and various treatment facilities. I would say that in about 85% of the cases I handled, offenders had never accepted responsibility for their conduct. Often times we found that parents had never held them accountable.

Temper tantrums and angry outbursts were diagnosed by psychiatrists as explosive disorder. Substance abuse is a disease. Those who exhibit extreme selfishness are not selfish, they suffer from a narcissistic personality disorder. We have all kinds of labels to excuse sinful behavior and remove responsibility from the sinner. My personal favorite is conduct disorder, used on children who exhibit bad conduct. My dad had the cure for this, but today it is considered by some to be child abuse, go figure.

As human beings, we don’t like to admit our mistakes. We like to blame it on someone else. This isn’t new, it started with Adam and Eve. When God confronted Adam in the garden in Genesis 3:12, he told God, “That woman You gave to be with me did it.” It was not only Eve’s fault, but  Adam seems to blame God for putting Eve with him in the first place. Eve didn’t do any better in verse 13. She blamed it all on the serpent who deceived her.

In my many years with D.O.C. I saw various politicians with various plans for “fixing” sinful or criminal behavior.

God gave us a way to fix bad behavior, but you won’t hear politicians speaking of it for two reasons. First because it mentions Jesus and secondly because it is free. Nobody’s brother-in-law can make a fortune from some high dollar treatment plan costing millions of taxpayer’s dollars. God’s treatment plan is simple and is outlined in James 4:7, Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. It’s simple and cost effective, this is why politicians will never use it. When we don’t submit to God, we are easy prey for the devil and his schemes.

Our scripture passage today tells us God does not give us any temptation beyond what we can bear. This is often misquoted as, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” speaking of trials and tribulations. But, that is not in the Bible. This particular Scripture passage is speaking specifically of temptation. I believe that God has given me trials and tribulations too big for me to bear. This is when He taught me to lean on Him and to give it over to Him. If I could have handled it, I would have never given it all over.

Temptation is another issue altogether. We talked yesterday about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives. When we are filled with God’s Holy Spirit we can withstand temptation. We can forgive. We can even love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

We need to look at this Scripture passage in context. Paul is warning Christians in Corinth to not make the same mistakes that the Israelites made. Time and time again, they succumbed to temptations and angered God. They paid a heavy price for this. Those that left Egypt wandered around in the wilderness and only their descendants made it into the promised land. Later they fell into captivity by pagan nations due to their disobedience. God is not going to excuse away our sin. We will face judgment if we don’t confess our sins to Him and repent of our evil ways.

This is why we must be very careful when temptation comes our way. We must never think that we can get away with it or that God will overlook it. We must deal with it.

We must understand that if it’s too much to bear, God is there for us.

I am not downplaying mental illness, I understand that many suffer from neurological disorders. But, for those who knowingly commit sin, it’s sin. God is not going to put a label on it, He’s going to judge it.

We must all be accountable for our sinful behavior. God is not going to overlook it. Turn to God today and resist the devil. He will help you overcome temptation.

Have a great day!