10 Rules for overcoming temptation

Temptation simply put is just that which points us away from what is good and then the rest is really up to us and I don't care if you're a saint or a sinner young or old as long as there's air in our lungs no one is free from temptation now there's two things to keep in mind about Temptation first yeah they can be very small and annoying like am I going to destroy that entire bag of chips but they can also be very serious and lead to that thing that destroys my peace my relationships my

family my marriage my health my career my life are worse somebody else's and the second thing to keep in mind is this Temptations are just leading us away from what is good but what is truth or love or life-giving but sometimes we can put all the emphasis on oh man what's all this bad stuff that's leading me too but not enough emphasis on oh man but what's all that good stuff that's leading me away from so here are just 10 tips that I hope will help us all deal with those annoying Temptations when we think

of Temptations we usually think of the obvious like lust food drinking drugs laziness gossip greed anger and wanting everything that everybody else has that I don't but then they're the not so obvious like am I tempted towards negativity criticism judgment resentment discouragement Envy vanity dark thoughts overthinking and the two big ones doubt and self-pity if we're gonna go into battle the first step is always know your enemy foreign once we know our Temptations we have to know what sets them off maybe it's a person place or thing maybe it's a mood or feeling like boredom

idleness or complete and utter loneliness but I think you and I know that 99.9 of all our triggers come through one thing our portable pocket-sized conduit of all the temptation of the entire universe know your triggers remove and avoid the ones we can and have a solid game plan ready in advance for the ones we can't [Music] temptation is just right outside our door right now even as we speak it doesn't get tired it knows all our triggers and it just Waits for that perfect opportunity to come knocking our best shot to stop it is

right here at the door it starts with just a thought then our imagination entertains it then it brings us some kind of satisfaction or Delight powerful attraction then we consent this is how the enemy gains entrance give in only a fool takes chances make your stand here because it's almost impossible to make it here [Music] foreign keep reminding yourself that any Temptation no matter how strong and annoying it may be will always pass the saying goes the devil who knocks and knocks and finds no entrance eventually gets bored and just moves on I've found it

takes about 23 minutes so the next time you're battling with some Temptation set a timer for 23 minutes and just go do something else the best weapon for annihilating temptation is actually as I think you know some Temptations become so wired into our brains and biology that we come to realize pretty fast our own strength and willpower just aren't enough the strength comes from surrendering not surrendering to some temptation but surrendering to the one who has the power infinite power now I know some of you are thinking yeah I prayed I prayed I prayed it

does nothing well think of it this way at the time of some Temptation we slowly lose control of our will it becomes agitated and excited like a crazy out of control puppy now what happens when you place that puppy in its mother's arms it becomes calm subdued docile Jesus gave us all his mother the most pure and docile and loving creature to ever walked the face of the Earth the next time you're battling some temptation just place your will into your mother's arms and take a deep breath and surrender Temptations teach us something about ourselves

they reveal who we are underneath the surface and scream out what's broken and What needs some work which oh by the way leads to a thing called which lead to another little thing called Temptation builds strength at first we can barely lift the small ones but then over time we can lift the really big ones and not to mention help others lift theirs think of each temptation as an opportunity to build strength Temptations keep us humble my God we all think we're God's gift to the universe these days we've got to bring it down a

little bit and a constant reminder of our complete and utter lack of self-control ought to do the trick beating Temptations boosts confidence think of how you feel right after you give in to some Temptation think of how you feel right after you don't and finally the greatest Among Us are those who face their demons and win no one's ever Rose to Greatness by having it easy look at each temptation as a stepping stone to rise above ourselves [Music] he who trims a little and Snips a little advances little we gotta get to the roots usually

we put all the emphasis on whether we're succeeding or failing at some Temptation and not enough emphasis on getting to the root cause of it all no I don't know what that is it could be unresolved trauma or family or anger issues too much fear too alone or just too much time on our hands but I would bet that for most of us it just comes down to a lack of real purpose and meaning in our lives dig to the roots and get some help if necessary we're never going to be free of Temptation at

least not in this life but with calm and patient and brave endurance over time we will Master them it's not going to happen overnight just get through the next 23 minutes in the next hour then the next day then the next week think of it as just one of those things that's part of my daily labor like working out and eating right and win every day no battle was ever won by running away sure maybe it's a little time but inevitably we all find ourselves right back to where we started or worse eventually we're all

gonna have to face our Temptations Temptations are the result of a lack of confidence not only in My Own Strength but in his so the next time you're battling some Temptation literally imagine yourself standing up face to face with that temptation and take control and don't let it beat you down you beat it down and not just with your own strength but with his foreign and finally we're all gonna fall and when we do go easy on yourself don't beat yourself up or turn to worry anxiety or fear these are just more Temptations just pick

yourself up and keep going when we're face down in the dirt for the one millionth time there'll be two voices one from above of accusation condemnation kicking us more down and reminding us how bad we are and the other from down in the dirt with us of compassion forgiveness lifting us up and saying come on I love you let's do this together only listen to the one Temptation simply put is just that which points us away from what is good or what is truth or what is love or what is life-giving and these are simply

just another name for what we call