Craig Clouston

 Deep- Seeded Desires

September 3

Each one is tempted, when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away

and enticed.

James 1:14

Taylor was beautiful. Gary had tried—unsuccessfully—to land a date with her

for almost two years. So when she stopped by his office on Tuesday and said

with a smile, “I’m free Friday night if you don’t have any plans,” Gary imme-

diately secured the date. The problem was he actually did have plans. And his

plan’s name was Wendy. Gary and Wendy had been dating for about a month.

Gary, realizing his dilemma, called Wendy and told her something had

come up, and he wouldn’t be able to keep their date on Friday. Wendy had

assured him it was okay and that she would take a rain check.

All day Friday, Gary played out his perfect scenario of how the evening

would go: a quiet dinner over on the east side at Carrillo’s, a ride in a Hand-

some Cab through the Old Town, followed by a romantic walk down by the

pier. He couldn’t believe his luck; he had finally gotten a date with Taylor!

They arrived at Carrillo’s around 7:00. Upon entering the restaurant, Gary

walked straight into his worst nightmare. There stood Wendy and her father,

waiting to be seated. When their eyes met, Wendy’s smile disappeared and

was replaced by a look of horror and humiliation. Suddenly, Gary realized in

his desire to date Taylor he had made a self-centered decision. His regret was

profound, immediate, and too late.

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Our value systems become compromised when we cloak selfish, indulgent

behavior in lies and choose to give in to deep-seeded desires that are morally

or ethically wrong. When temptation rears its ugly head, we must look for a

way of escape instead of allowing the thought room to breed and grow.

Temptation in itself is not sin. But, as James describes, we get carried away

when we don’t immediately reject its offer. When we entertain the tempta-

tion, we are taking steps to consummate the agreement brought by the enemy.

Instead, we should be running in the opposite direction. Remember, no temp-

tation has taken us that we cannot overcome if we choose (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Prayer

“Lord, help me live a righteous life. Cause me to

be aware of the danger in entertaining evil desires,

even momentarily. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”