“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:13-14 ESV
Reflection: is idolatry a temptation in itself, or does it cause temptations?
If you think back at the past 24 hours, or perhaps even the past week, what sort of temptations faced you? Or have you ever reflected on that? Because, if you do, you will probably start seeing a pattern. Certain situations or things that you get exposed to, that might trigger a reaction in you that you don’t really want. You know deep down is wrong. Might be something that irritates you, that cause you to lash out, saying things you shouldn’t. Or perhaps ads on social media cause you to want something, whether it is just a thing you want to buy or get, or even lust after. Suddenly you find yourself clicking and following a path, a road you shouldn’t. Or new opportunities at work, the promise of a big promotion, cause you to sacrifice more and more of your time and energy to your company. How about worship of self, vanity, which has become a huge problem as a result of social media?
First of all, do you consider any of these temptations, or are they just part of normal living in this world? In fact, what do you consider a temptation in your own life? Perhaps a simple definition would be “anything that cause you to go against the character and will of God”, which is pretty broad, right? But if you think about it, we are created to love God, to be in a relationship with Him, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Anything that lures us away from that is the work of the enemy. And, when we start identifying what cause us to not spend time with God, what cause us to do things against His will, and what damage human relations, we see the patterns of how the enemy is attacking us. The enemy’s customized attack plan, made just for us. Each of us.
As Paul is summarizing how we can learn from the past, from mistakes that others have made, he makes a couple of strange conclusions. First, he makes a very bold statement in verse 13, talking about temptations “common to man”, which basically is referring to our flesh. He says that all of these temptations we can overcome with the help of God. “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13b ESV. Now, the key point here is our own desire to love God and be in a trusting relationship with Him, and therefore not to sin, to not give in to the temptation. James said it this way “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 ESV.
If we think back at our Lord Jesus, how he was tempted, it started with the flesh. In his case, hunger. But, when that didn’t work for the devil, he went to his second line of attack. Testing God. Now remember, that was how he convinced Eve to take a bite of the apple. He could not use the flesh to attack her, because she had everything in the garden. There was no lack. So he tricked her to test God – has he really said? In the case of Jesus temptation, we read “Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”” Matthew 4:5-7 ESV. We must never challenge the will of God.
Paul then concludes with a statement that at first seems out of place. “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:14 ESV. What does idolatry have to do with temptation? Idolatry is the service of false gods. All “gods” that take the place of the one true God, is idolatry. Jesus said ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24 ESV. I do believe idolatry comes in many forms. Might be money or what drives us to make more money. Or some individual, or “star” we “idolize”, or even an image of a false god, that could look like a nice statue to have in our home, or even a painting of a false god. Idolatry therefore seems more to be a choice of who we worship, as opposed to a temptation. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’””Matthew 4:8-10 ESV
As you think through how the enemy is attacking you, his battle plan tells you where you have weaknesses. Seek close to God, submit yourself fully to Him.
And, above all, flee from idolatry.