Sometimes, there's a sign that says 'closed', but I pretend that I can't read and go inside anyway.
Sometimes, I do things that I know I shouldn't do.
That's a weird statement, isn't it? It's almost an oxymoron. Like I literally KNOW I shouldn't do something, but I do it anyway. It's this really weird wiring inside my brain that I don't understand, and honestly, like anyone would, I hate it. It's like I come across a temptation, and my mind says "NO DON"T DO IT!" but then my body says, "DO IT. PLAY WITH FIRE. THE PLEASURE IS GREATER THAN THE PAIN." Then, my body does said thing, and I hate myself afterward when I face the consequences because I focused on the initial 'perks' of said sin rather than the longterm consequences. It's like I know in my mind what the right thing is, but my body and actions want to/do the wrong thing. It's just like having a steering wheel in a car that causes you to go left when you turn it to go right, or like knowing in your mind how to shoot a basketball into a hoop but then your body completely ignoring that knowledge and making it look like the only basketball experience you've ever had was that one time in 3rd grade when you tried to shoot a wadded up piece of paper into the trashcan but missed, so you got sent to the hall for throwing paper on the floor.
That's a lot of analogies to say this: "I mess up a lot because, a lot of times, I don't know how to handle temptation well, so my actions do what my heart and soul don't want to."
Temptation is a funny thing. It's something we all face and that we all succumb to at some point or another. No matter how 'good' or 'bad' of a person you may be, we all deal with temptation, and we all fall victim to it (yes, some temptations look like sin, but other temptations may look more like bowls of chocolate ice cream). It's a tough battle to fight and an even tougher battle to win, and I can only think of one person who's ever won it every time, and that was Jesus.
Jesus knew how to battle temptation and win it, and He faced the biggest temptations of them all. Forget me trying to say 'no' to one more pint of beer; Jesus said 'no' to bread during a 40-day fast when all He would've done was break the fast, and He said 'no' to being ruler of all the kingdoms in the world and their glory, and all He would've had to do was bend down on His knees. I can't imagine being in the face of that kind of temptation, but He faced it and He defeated it. It's hard enough for me to say 'no' to temptation when friends say, "Just do it" like they're some sort of Nike advertising agents. He said 'no' in the face of much more than that.
Jesus handled the lies of temptation by confronting it with the Truth He knew. He didn't focus on the instant 'perks', but instead He focused on the ultimate and real desires of His heart. He prayed not to be lead into temptation, but to be delivered from evil. Jesus focused on arming Himself with the prevention for sin, not just the cure for it. Maybe we should do the same.
-Cliff
Cliff's Note: Temptation is sure to come, so prepare to prevent it.