A New Year. A New Habit?

 

A few days ago I loaded the Pastormobile with empty boxes from Christmas and some other larger things that I had set aside to throw away and I headed to the dump. The previous time I had been out the “low tire” light had come on and on my way home from the dump I stopped at the gas station to see if the air hose was out. It was, and so I parked close to it and proceeded to check the tires.

On the driver side one tire was low and one was fine. I added air to the low tire and then walked around to the other side of the car. As I walked around the front of the car I slipped and nearly fell. It was very icy and irregular and my heavy boots had zero traction. Both tires on the passenger side were fine and so, with caution, I walked to the front of the car to wrap the air hose back up. 

Caution, but not quite enough, as I slipped and fell on the ice. I banged my knee and my arm but they seemed to be fine when I brushed them off. I hopped in the car and came home. Later in the afternoon I became aware that the ring finger on my left hand was sore. I must have banged that too and just not noticed it at the time. Later in the evening my finger was both sore and a bit stiff. I tried sliding my wedding ring off and, with a lot of effort, was able to get it past the knuckle. I decided to leave my ring off until the swelling went down in my finger.

Sometime in the morning of the next day I made a discovery of sorts. I wasn’t surprised that my ring was missing from its usual place. My finger was still sore and I had taken it off for that very reason. What surprised me was how often during a day I have contact with that ring, either by touching it with a finger from that hand or reaching for it with my other hand. Over and over and over that day I found myself reaching for that ring in an almost unconscious manner, and then being consciously aware that it wasn’t there.

That discovery got me to thinking about sin and temptation. We are tempted to sin in the things we think, the things we say, and the things we do. Not only are we tempted to sin, but we do sin. We sin in thought, word and deed. Some of it may be very publicly known but a lot if it is known only to ourselves, and to God, whom all sin is against.

But what do we do when we are tempted? Do we turn to the Lord to flee that temptation? Sometimes, but, at least in my case, not enough. We play with it for a while. Should I, or shouldn’t I? Or we may pretend that it isn’t really temptation. Or maybe we just jump in, because today has just been a really long day and I need a break.

What if…what if I learned to handle temptation, at least most of it, in a manner similar to the presence of my wedding ring? I’ve found out that I touch and handle my ring for more than I ever imagined. What if I learned to flee temptation in a similar way?  What if at the first awareness of temptation I would turn to the Lord, as naturally as I seem to touch my ring? What if when tempted my thoughts were to lift up a prayer? Or to recall a piece of Scripture? Or to think briefly on one of God’s attributes, like his love, or mercy, or power, or kindness, or glory?

I’m not one who usually goes for New Year’s resolutions. But I think the timing of my fall and its moment of self-awareness give me something new to work on as 2020 ends and 2021 gets underway. I’m going to seek God’s help in developing some constructive, God-honoring habits to deal with temptation when it comes my way. May he be at work in my life for his glory. Amen.

 

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.