In almost every moment of my day I am tempted. These temptations manifest in various forms, but always they urge me to be less than who I truly am. At one moment, it may be the temptation to watch television instead of exercising, at another time I may be tempted to be gluttonous - to eat, not because I am hungry, but for the sheer pleasure of eating.

Every day we face temptation in our lives. We are tempted to eat too much, drink too much, to be unfaithful in our relationships, to neglect our responsibilities, to be lazy at work... In every case, whatever the temptation, it is an invitation to be less than ourselves, and to be less than who we are is a sin. Sin diminishes us, and is ultimately self-destructive.

Temptation always precedes sin. But sin need not necessarily follow temptation.  So what is temptation and how can we overcome it? Well, temptation begins with a momentary thought, an idea lingering across our mind. We invite that idea into our hearts and then a voice whispers to us, "That would be nice..." We know that the proposal isn't good for us. Perhaps we even know the proposal is wrong, but we entertain it nonetheless.

Then the voice whispers again, "Everybody is doing it..." and now we begin to dialogue with this mysterious voice. But for every objection we raise, this voice seems to have an answer. If we allow this dialogue to continue, it goes on and on until one of three things happen. Either we give in to the temptation out of desire, we give in to the temptation out of confusion, or we give in to the temptation simply out of exhaustion.

Over the past seven years, in an attempt to understand this central component of Christian spirituality, I have turned to observing myself and others in situations of temptation. I have discovered that there is one immutable truth when it comes to temptation: don't dialogue with the devil.

Once that dialogue begins, it is very difficult to overcome temptation. For every question you can ask, the devil has seven answers and you will end up weakened, confused, exhausted, and drowning in a sin that makes you less than who you are.

With all this in mind, most people think of temptation as something negative, which seems strange to me. An athlete who is serious about preparing for a race does not think of training as a negative thing, but rather as something very positive which builds him up or makes her stronger. In the same way, every time we resist temptation it builds us up and makes us stronger. The secret is to win the battle at the start. Don't let the dialogue even begin.

Dismiss the temptation from the first moment. Remind yourself of the misery it will lead to and affirm the happiness you will find by rejecting it.  If we wish to thrive in the Christian life, if we wish to rediscover the richness of Catholic Spirituality, we must seek a deeper understanding of the roles sin, temptation, and the devil play in our lives. It is only on the other side of this greater understanding that we will begin to experience the abundant life that Jesus invites us to in the Gospels.
Courtesy of the Beacon, © 2000, The Matthew Kelly Foundation, Steubenville, OH.  Matthew Kelly is a lay evangelist and the author of several books on spirituality. A Call to Joy: Living in the Presence of God, by Matthew Kelly is available on our web site, www. sfSpirit.com, in paperback for $14.00 through our Amazon connection.