Now let's straighten out a few things. First off, temptation is not a sin. It is the desire to commit a sin. Secondly, temptation blocks off your inner conscience. Do you ever feel those voices battling in your head sometimes? That's your conscience (God) and temptation (the Devil). When you follow through with the action that the Devil is tempting your towards, then you have committed a sin.
Kapeesh? :)
There was this one time where I was feeling very tempted. (To do what? You might ask. My lips are sealed.) I was standing on the end of my stairs, and my head turned into a battle ground.
Do it. Do it now.
No!
Come on, no one will notice.
Don't do it, don't do it.
Sound familiar? It happens all the time in our minds. Sometimes, we train ourselves to ignore the battle and just go along with what we want.
But most of the times, what we want isn't want God wants.
So there I was, standing at the top of the stairs, staring off into space and thinking about what I was going to do next.
And then I thought of something my religion teacher said.
"You can destroy your conscience."
What?! You can destroy your conscience? How!?
And the answer, my friends, is quite simple. You go against it over and over until you can't hear it anymore. Like I said above, we can train our conscience to just fade into nothingness.
Do you really want that to happen to you?
1. Listen to your conscience.
" It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil. It bears witness to the authority of truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking." ETWN
Our conscience is here for a reason. Although God did give us Free Will, that doesn't mean He's completely out of the picture. He gave us a voice to follow- specifically His voice. The whole entire purpose for our conscience is to listen and ponder about our upcoming decision.
2. Your conscience is a muscle. Strengthen it.
Like any other normal muscle, you need to work out to strengthen it. Although you can't physically feel the strain or soreness afterward, you do feel a little uncomfortable at first- especially if you haven't listened to your conscience in a long time. It might seem awkward at first, but after a few times you will feel like a pro.
3. Surround yourself with good temptations.
If you surround yourself with good temptations, logic says most of the time you will be fine. If you sit down reading a good, appropriate book rather than watch a sketchy movie, chances are you will be so wrapped up in the book you won't even think twice about the movie! Don't let yourself get in those tight situations where you are forced to make a hard choice. This is especially hard when you are with your friends. If your friends invite you to a movie, make sure you find out what it is first. If it's looking a little on the edge, then maybe suggest a different movie! If they don't respect your decisions, maybe you should question their morals and wonder if their influence is good around you.
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If you follow these three steps, you will most surely listen to your conscience and ignore the Devil! Remember, our souls is the treasure that is constantly being protected by God, and yourself. If you wield up the shield of your conscience, you will have no problem battling temptation.
All through Christ,
Maddie
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