I wanted to use a few of my husband’s foothold traps for a team building exercise at work. When I showed concern about my team members’ safety my tough guy husband purposefully chose to stick his hand into a set trap to prove to me that it would not hurt. It really caught me off guard and scared me. I took his word for it since I was not brave enough to try it on my own.
Had it been a larger foothold trap he would have never attempted such a trick since he is educated to know his traps.
I may not be willing to purposefully stick my hand into that trap but I recently found myself tempted by another sort of trap!
During a routine internet search, a pornography website popped up on my computer screen. After my initial shock I immediately closed the website. How could I have become so completely ignorant of the danger right there under my fingertips? It was a trap that I chose not to engage.
There are two important insights we can learn from James 1:12-14 concerning traps:
12 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. 13 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. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. James 1:12-14 (NKJV)
1. Each individual has his/her own individual desires.
The phrase “His own desire” refers to each individual’s nature. Our own nature lusts and desires after that which will bring satisfaction to the flesh.
Thankfully, pornography has not proven to be a strong temptation for me but my list of individual temptations is not short.
2. Temptation promises something good but turns out to be harmful.
Take a close look at the following words used here:
- Drawn away. This Gr. Word was used to describe wild game being lured into traps. Just as animals can be drawn to their deaths by attractive baits, temptation promises people something good, which is actually harmful.*
- Enticed. A fishing term that means “to capture” or “to catch with bait.”*
Whether your temptation is with pornography, pride, unkindness, self-centeredness, impatience or lack of forgiveness, sticking your nose where it does not belong, cheating, stealing, overeating, gossiping, lying, telling half-truths, or laziness it is all a TRAP brought on by our own evil desires and we don’t have to stick our hand into the trap!
What traps are you tempted to stick your hand into?
Copyright©2014, Gloria Stucky
* The John MacArthur Study Bible pg 1927