So I Won't Be Tempted...

After school today, the boys and I (Rusty) made a quick run to Sonic. The plan was to take the food home, but I offered to let the boys eat in the back seat on the way home. Of course, I reminded them of the importance of not getting food on the seats. Logan, my 6 year old, handed me his bag and said, "Can you put my food up there so I won't be tempted to eat it?" Pretty impressive for a 6 year old! Logan realized that he was destined to make a mess while eating in the car, so it was best that he just remove the temptation from his sight.

I wonder...what temptations do you need to remove so that you don't make a mess?

Let's be honest. We all have them. For some people it is pornography. For others it may be food. Others may be tempted by alcohol or drugs. Still others may be tempted by less obvious things, like a cell phone. Or maybe even a group of friends that somehow always cause you to gossip. There are a world of things that tempt us and prey on our weaknesses, but are we willing to remove them from our reach so that we don't make a mess?

Seventeen months ago we began a process of removing temptations that we had allowed to creep into our marriage. Some things were a direct result of the crisis we were in, like the removal of certain forms of online communication. Some were just because we finally recognized the damage that they had caused our marriage, like inappropriate movies and TV shows. Others were hard decisions, like canceling a gym membership, or even changing friends...difficult, but very necessary steps to remove temptations from our lives.

How about a real life example? Just two days ago I went to the mailbox to check the mail, and found a Victoria's Secret catalog waiting. How did I remove the temptation? I closed the mailbox so that Heather could check the mail when she got home. I never even let the catalog reach my hands. That may sound extreme to you, but I know what can happen when we let temptations hang around too long.

Identify those things that tempt you, and then remove them from your life. That might even mean asking for a little help, and it all starts with honesty...something my 6 year old reminded me of today.

Rusty and Heather