Many children have found themselves in a tempting situation and have given in—maybe it was a bowl of ice cream on the counter or a candy bar on a store shelf or some money sticking out of mom’s purse. For children, these are life lessons to learn from, but it’s “kids’ stuff.”
For Christian adults, the tempting situations get bigger and the consequences for giving in become eternal. Maybe it’s having unmonitored access to your company’s finances, maybe it’s being out with some friends who are drinking, maybe it’s being alone in close quarters with a coworker, maybe it’s being triggered by someone else’s actions to lose your temper, maybe it’s finding convenient excuses to avoid fulfilling Christian responsibilities. Tempting situations come in all shapes and sizes.
The Christian’s vigilant responsibility is to “flee,” “abstain” and “resist” putting yourself or someone else in a tempting situation (Gen. 39:9-12; 1 Cor. 6:18-20; 1 Thess. 4:3; 5:22; 2 Tim. 2:22; Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 2:11-12). Read the verses. This isn’t “kids’ stuff”!