~Tempatations~

I heard a great sermon this morning from the book of James on the topic of temptations.  These are the verses that the sermon came from:

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  (James 1:12)

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."  (James 1:13-15)

The point was made that, there is a distinction between the temptation that is brought about by God, which leads to blessings (v.12) and the temptation that is not of God (vs. 13 & 14).

The temptation that God brings is more accurately a testing or proving that leads to the crown of life.  The temptation that is in verses 13 & 14 is an enticing into sin which appeals to the flesh.  God is not capable of this type of temptation.

This Scripture lesson made me think of raising my children.  I would NEVER intentionally "entice" my children to sin, however, we are faced with many decisions that could do just that.

One example is, when one of my daughters was young there were some young girls in our neighborhood who were choosing to wear immodest clothing.  It was fashionable clothing but wasn't modest, at least according to our family standards.  The more time my daughter spent with these girls, the greater she struggled with wanting to "fit in" and wear clothing that was "in fashion".  She knew the reasons for our standards, but it was still a struggle for her.

We chose to severely limit the amount of time she spent with the neighborhood girls by filling her time with more family activities, crafts, church events, etc.  Our philosophy was that, since our daughter struggled in this area then we were "enticing" her by allowing her to spend more time with these girls.  That is not what our Lord does with us, so we should not do that as parents either.  "...nor does He Himself tempt anyone".
 
There are many choices for homeschooling families these days.  You can homeschool via a co-op or a  public school; there are sports activities, social activities, youth groups, etc.  I would encourage you moms to think through the effects that your decisions have on each of your children.  Does your decision "entice" your child in any way?  Are the relationships that you are allowing enticing them into temptation?  How about the competition?   Use of the computer?, etc.

My main point here is to encourage you to think "outside the box" of our culture and look to Scripture to guide and direct you as you make decisions that effect your family.

"In the absence of Biblical conviction, people will go the way of culture".  Sally Clarkson