“7Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” — Matthew 18:7 (ESV)
As I go through this world, I will be tempted. And for that temptation, there is a reason for feeling sorry for myself as there is nothing that I can do or could have done to avoid that temptation. I have to live with the fact of the temptation being there and then I have to do the work to avoid it as much as I can and when unavoidable, I have to ask the LORD to deliver me from its clutches.
Whereas there is no chance that the temptation will not come upon me, I have to also ensure that I am not the one bringing temptation to my fellow man. There is enough strife and temptation in this world there is no room for any more that may be brought by me. I have to be very careful in my approach to the world to ensure that I do not cause another to stumble.
“13Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother…20Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.” — Romans 14:13&20 (ESV)
It is my duty to lift up my brothers and sisters as opposed to getting in their way and holding them down. I have to ensure that whatever it is that I am doing, that those things are not a hindrance to their growth and ability to avoid temptation that would not be pronounced to them without my presence.
An example of me not bringing the temptation to my brothers and sisters is here. At the end of the day during the week, as I wind down before bedtime, I have a couple of drinks. It is only Monday – Friday and if I do have drinks on the weekend, it is generally in a social sense and a part of the evening and in the presence of others that have already ordered drinks themselves. At home in the evenings, it is only Lori and I in the house and therefor no one is there to be tempted by my actions. This is an example of removing the stumbling block to those around me. By not drinking in the presence of others on the regular, they are not tempted to drink by my actions.
Now, where the above example is only one, our approach should be similar in all that we do. There is enough temptation in the world as noted by Jesus in the passage found in Matthew. There is also enough opportunity to stop bringing that temptation to the world on my part. It is important, as Jesus states as noted in Matthew and Paul writes in Romans that I am not the bringer of temptation to the world and my brothers and sisters that are in it.
What temptations are you fighting off in the world? Are you bringing temptation to those around you? What if you worked to avoid and be delivered from temptation and also worked to ensure that you are not bringing temptation to others?
Trevor's Thoughts 