The Temptation We Don't See Coming

When we think of the word "temptation" does a certain image pop into your mind?  It does for me.  It's an image of chocolate cake.  Deep, dark, moist, rich, with thick chocolate frosting.  Over-indulgence is a particularly prevalent temptation for me.  Maybe it's something else for you.  We each have temptations that we know we are prone to fall into.  But what about the temptations we do not know we fall into?

We have been socialized into a particular culture that has both marvelous and sinful qualities.  No culture is completely bad but, no culture is completely virtuous.  In our culture, we have some embedded assumptions about how the world operates that do not conform to the will of God. 

One assumption is that revenge is a way to solve problems.  From television programs, to relationships, to our legal system our culture teaches that is someone has wronged us, we have the right--in some cases the duty--to seek revenge.  The betrayer should be betrayed, the abuser should be abused, the pretentious should get their comeuppance.  The very fact that “comeuppance” is a word with a long history in the English language is further proof that revenge is embedded in our culture. 

The problem with revenge is that it doesn't satisfy.  Shakespeare's character of Shylock in "All's Well that Ends Well" illustrates just how tricky revenge is.  According to an agreement, he was permitted a pound of another man's flesh.  He went to the magistrate to intervene--the magistrate (who was actually the man's girlfriend in disguise) required him to take a pound of flesh, nothing more and nothing less.  If the man bled one ounce more than the pound in the process of Shylock take what he "deserved" the consequences for Shylock would be great. Short answer:  It's almost impossible to insure that the revenge we exact is exactly proportional to the injustice we experienced.  What's more, revenge only perpetuates more revenge.  It generates grudges, divisions and enemies. 

Scripture is filled with warnings and commands against seeking revenge.  Leviticus 19:18 says, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord."  Proverbs 20:22 and Proverbs 24:29 also warn people to avoid revenge.  Jesus cautioned people not seek revenge in his familiar command to "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39).  And twice in the New Testament we hear the admonition, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult." (1 Peter 3:9 and Romans 12:17).  The legitimacy of revenge is just one of several assumptions our culture tries to teach us is good but which scripture warns us is sinful.  When we think about temptation, we may need to think more deeply about the things which tempt us that we do not realize at the time.  Those embedded assumptions that we've come to accept but which are opposed to the will of God are more clearly sinful than all the ill-advised chocolate cake we may have consumed.