Dry Season peak
March 8, 2023
A different Way
March 8, 2023
By Daniel Francis
You ever sit down and notice that temptation is everywhere and ever-present? We are all in a constant battle to ignore the temptations and stay on the right path. But it is not always easy when temptation presents itself to you neatly gift-wrapped, ready for you to accept with just a word.
The thing with temptation is that it thinly veils the often-massive repercussions that are waiting on the other side of yielding to it. I think as men especially, we are uniquely positioned to be constantly bombarded by the worst type of temptation, that of a sexual nature.
In an earlier article, I mentioned the idea of the “male gaze” whereby the most powerful people on earth tend to be men, so you find that society is shaped with this filter of what men want to see. Hence the over-sexualisation of practically everything.
That helps explain bizarre but common occurrences like a simple burger advertisement being overly sexualised by a half-naked woman eating the burger seductively. It is done in this manner to satiate the male gaze.
As such we are constantly being bombarded by sex. It is everywhere, in the music we listen to, on social media, etc. We are so accustomed to the oversexualised nature of our society that we do not notice the extent to which it has warped our perception of women.
The objectification of women, even if passively, plays a distinct role in temptation. Hence it seems now that cheating is commonplace in our society.
I challenge that this increased difficulty to fend off the enchantment of temptation, specifically temptation of a sexual nature: pornography, masturbation, cheating, adultery etc, is a call for us to reinforce our resolve and rise above these challenges.
1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Temptation is commonplace. It has been this way from the beginning. Even if the forms are different today. The missing piece is God. We must look to God to help us manoeuvre away from temptation.
In every encounter with temptation, there is always an escape route. Think back to the last time you were tempted. Whether as small as being offered a candy bar when you said you would stick to your diet plan, or as big as someone making an advance towards you even though you are in a loving relationship. Immediately after that rush of what could be, your mind identifies what you should be doing and options for escape—saying no to the candy bar, and vehemently rejecting the advance. It is now on you at that moment to make the right decision or fold.
It seems as humans we are destined to be tested. On our own, the daily rigours of temptation would quickly demolish us but because we have God, we have the ultimate defense.
We must, however, use this defence when faced with the attractiveness of temptation so that we can stay on the right path.
Daniel Francis is a millennial helping other millennials. He is a two-time author of the books The Millennial Mind and The Millennial Experience, and an entrepreneur. Over the past four years, he has served as a Personal Development Coach whose work targets Millennials and helps them tap into their full potential. He is also a Self-publishing coach and has guided hundreds on self-publishing their book successfully.
IG: rebitlimited
LinkedIn: Daniel Francis
Email: themillennialmind2020@gmail.com
Website: rebityouth.com
