The other day my family and I were having lunch and we saw a sign in their gift shop that read, Lead me not into temptation I can find the way myself. I thought that was a great statement.

We tend to naturally get off course more often than we probably care to admit. There is something within us that is drawn to distractions. These distractions keep us from truly living out our potential. A perfect example can be found in Homer’s classic “The Odyssey.” In this tale, Sirens were island creatures who would lure sailors with their music and enchantment. While fixated on the Sirens, the sailors would carelessly wreck their ships on the rocky coast, bringing about their destruction.

James 3:13-15 (NIV)

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.  

We must keep our eyes on the prize and press on in our journey of righteousness or we will become like these sailors who were destructed by distractions. When you guard yourself from temptation’s bait, you free yourself from it’s destruction. Sin distracts us from God’s best.

Here are two thoughts to keep yourself from finding the way to temptation’s vicious  black hole…

1) Distract Yourself From Distractions

When you are busy being and doing what God has called you to do, it’s hard to find time to drift. It’s when we take our eyes off the call that we tend to get drawn in to temptation’s claws. When we let our mind wander it typically goes spiritually septic. Jesus was tempted the most when He was in the desert. We too, are tempted the most when our minds are wandering in a desert wasteland. There is no fruit from thinking about bitterness, hurts, unforgiveness, lust, envy, jealousy, anger, revenge, etc… Distract yourself from distractions by being so intentional about what you are doing for God that there is no room for temptation. Keep yourself busy (in a good way) with the right stuff and the wrong stuff won’t have as much time to mess with you.

2) Protect Your Surroundings

Do not place yourself in situations that will open the door to sin. Do not walk into a lion’s den and expect to see cute cuddly cats. Make sure you are aware of your surroundings at all times. Choose the places you go and the people you spend your time with very carefully. A recovering alcoholic knows never to set foot in a bar, lest they succumb to the temptations. Likewise, know the places you should and should not go. This is a vital strategy to use in order to keep from opening the wrong doors. Many people open the wrong doors because they’ve found themselves in the wrong places. Half the battle is simply avoiding wrong environments where sin can easily slip through the door. If you wait until you are in the situation to try and avoid the sin in front of you, it can be very difficult. However, when you shut the door to that sin, you avoid the difficulty of attempting to stay strong against it. Temptation is not tempting if you are not around it.