Tempting Temptation

Few of us actually know our own strength until we are faced with situations that test us to the last limit. We often underestimate our power to endure hardships. And we sometimes overestimate our power to resist temptation. There is an oft-told tale of the boys who were seeing who could lean farthest out of a window. The boy who “won” did what too many people do: he leaned so far that he fell. A man must have wisdom and judgment as well as courage and ability. And wisdom would suggest that we stop somewhere short of testing our strength to the last degree of endurance. Wisdom would suggest that we refrain from getting into things that might carry us beyond where we want to stop. Too many people have leaned out too far and haven’t been able to get back in time to avoid tragedy. It is utter foolishness to see how far we can go in a dangerous direction. It is difficult to predict the pulling power of a magnet. And it is difficult to know just how far we can go before we have gone too far. And if we want to resist temptation, we should resist it on our own ground, and resist it at a safe range. Seeing how far one can go is one of the deadliest of dangers. Montaigne quotes Socrates on temptation: “Fly it; shun the sight and encounter of it, as of a powerful poison, that darts and wounds at a distance.” It is never smart to trifle on the borderline. If we want to resist temptation, we should never try to see how close we can come to the edge without falling off. To the plea, “Lead us not into temptation,” we might also add, “Let us not lead ourselves into temptation.” It may be fascinating to see how close we can come to a poisonous snake. But we would be wise never to underestimate the striking distance of a snake and never to overestimate our own ability to get out of its way.