What is your focus?
Temptation is a tricky thing. Often, what tempts us seems good on the surface, just like when Eve saw the fruit she was told to avoid, yet it appeared desirable for food. Essentially, she chose the immediate physical pleasure over the spiritual choice of following God’s guidance. This is exactly what Satan relies on-us choosing short-term pleasure over God’s command for a greater reward in the future. So, how do we resist this? The story of Joseph offers a great example. Joseph is entrusted with all of his master’s household, except for one thing-his wife. Yet, she fixates on Joseph and repeatedly tries to seduce him. Each time, Joseph demonstrates how to avoid temptation. First, he remains focused on his work (just like we are called to do the good works God has set before us) and reminds her that his responsibility is to oversee the house, which is his sole focus. Next, he stays true to God, telling her, “How could I do this wickedness and sin against God?” Joseph teaches us that to resist temptation, we must train ourselves to stay intensely focused on God, letting all worldly distractions fade into the background. So, what is your focus?
