SAY NO TO TEMPTATIONS
Temptations are traps. They are alluring, attractive,
fascinating, enticing, fascinating and tantalizing but their effects are
harmful and vicious.
Those who cannot resist temptations have to face undesirable
results. Adam and Eve were tempted by the forbidden fruit in heaven and had to fall
from there and come into this world.
Things which tempt us are unhealthy. Wine, cigarettes, spicy
food, sensual activities, unethical pleasures, stealing, greed, gluttony,
extra-marital relations, cheating, use of unfair means for fair ends, indulging
in immoral practices and so many other physical, mental and spiritual temptations have hellish
consequences.
Temptations are illegitimate desires. Their fulfillment is
painful. The pleasures or joys which they give us are ephemeral. A rat tempted
by the food in the rat-trap becomes a prisoner. He loses his free movement and
perhaps feels remorse for his getting tempted.
The English divine Samuel Clarke (1675-1729) said: Bearing up
against temptations and prevailing over them is the very thing wherein the
whole life of religion consists. It is the trial which God puts upon us in this
world, by which we are to make evidence of our love and obedience to Him, and
of our fitness to be made members of His kingdom.
And according to the American educationist Horace Mann (1796 --1859):
Temptation is a fearful word. It indicates the beginning of a possible series
of infinite evils. It is the ringing of an alarm bell, whose melancholy sounds
may reverberate through eternity. Like the sudden sharp cry of “Fire!” under
our windows by night, it should rouse us to instantaneous action, and rouse
every muscle to its highest tension.
The best way to escape the evil consequences of
temptations is to say ‘no” to them. To resist temptations is to preserve the
holiness of your body, mind and soul.
To conclude, here is a quote which says: “Common temptations
include eating too much, spending too much, laziness, venting on social media,
gossiping, feeling jealous, viewing pornography, lying or cheating and abusing
alcohol.”
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G.R.Kanwal
16 February 2025
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