There is only one food item that I crave - cranberry juice. There are lots of foods that I desire, and I have a few favorites. But there's only one that I crave. When I see cranberry juice commercials, I crave to have a glass. When I see the bottles of this tart-and-sweet nectar of perfection, I am compelled to buy some. I am never compelled to buy any other food or drink. There is hardly a time that having a glass doesn't sound particularly good.
There is also on one food item that I'm allergic to. If I have even a little of it, I get an asthma attack that can get bad enough to incite a bit of panic. In a twist of cruel fate, the one food I'm allegic to is ... cranberry juice!
I don't mind having a food allergy. But why does it have to be the one thing I crave? Do I crave it because I can't have it? I knew of my craving long before we identified what I was allergic to, so I don't see how it could be psychosomatic. If I wasn't allergic, would I still want it? Why does my body have such a strong desire for the only thing that makes my lungs close up? I even had a doctor once tell me to drink more cranberry juice for my health - even doctor's orders wouldn't prevent the wheezing.
Sin works on the same principle. We crave the thing that we are spiritually "allergic" to. Satan counts on it. If we didn't crave what we were "allergic" to, then he could not trap us. If we weren't allergic to what our flesh craves, then there would be no harm, and he would be powerless. No, for temptation to work, we've got to be allergic to what we crave.
I can't stop wanting cranberry juice. No matter what I do, I still want it. Even possessing the knowledge that it will cause me to sound like a lifetime smoker on a treadmill, I still struggle against myself to just say, "To blazes with it! I'm having a glass!"
Sin is that way. We can't will ourselves to stop wanting what tempts us. No matter what we do, we still want it. Even the knowledge of how it will damage or destroy our lives doesn't take away the struggle of saying, "To blazes!"
We win the fight against temptation like I win the fight against cranberry juice. Not by "only having a little." Not by trying really hard to stop wanting what tempts us. Not by sheer will power. The only way I win the fight against cranberry juice is to yield. I don't double up my will - I give up my will. The craving is still there. I don't rely on my sheer will power to resist. I just give up to the reality that it sucks the life out of me and that I don't have the personal resolve to best it. I give in to the truth that the only way to win is to lose - lose what I crave, lose the demand to get whatever I want, lose the false promise that I will be happier with a glass if juice than without.
The same with sin. But with sin, we also have the Holy Spirit within us, constantly blowing us "uphill" against sin's gravitational pull.
There is also on one food item that I'm allergic to. If I have even a little of it, I get an asthma attack that can get bad enough to incite a bit of panic. In a twist of cruel fate, the one food I'm allegic to is ... cranberry juice!
I don't mind having a food allergy. But why does it have to be the one thing I crave? Do I crave it because I can't have it? I knew of my craving long before we identified what I was allergic to, so I don't see how it could be psychosomatic. If I wasn't allergic, would I still want it? Why does my body have such a strong desire for the only thing that makes my lungs close up? I even had a doctor once tell me to drink more cranberry juice for my health - even doctor's orders wouldn't prevent the wheezing.
Sin works on the same principle. We crave the thing that we are spiritually "allergic" to. Satan counts on it. If we didn't crave what we were "allergic" to, then he could not trap us. If we weren't allergic to what our flesh craves, then there would be no harm, and he would be powerless. No, for temptation to work, we've got to be allergic to what we crave.
I can't stop wanting cranberry juice. No matter what I do, I still want it. Even possessing the knowledge that it will cause me to sound like a lifetime smoker on a treadmill, I still struggle against myself to just say, "To blazes with it! I'm having a glass!"
Sin is that way. We can't will ourselves to stop wanting what tempts us. No matter what we do, we still want it. Even the knowledge of how it will damage or destroy our lives doesn't take away the struggle of saying, "To blazes!"
We win the fight against temptation like I win the fight against cranberry juice. Not by "only having a little." Not by trying really hard to stop wanting what tempts us. Not by sheer will power. The only way I win the fight against cranberry juice is to yield. I don't double up my will - I give up my will. The craving is still there. I don't rely on my sheer will power to resist. I just give up to the reality that it sucks the life out of me and that I don't have the personal resolve to best it. I give in to the truth that the only way to win is to lose - lose what I crave, lose the demand to get whatever I want, lose the false promise that I will be happier with a glass if juice than without.
The same with sin. But with sin, we also have the Holy Spirit within us, constantly blowing us "uphill" against sin's gravitational pull.
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