Then What?

Sometimes a wise question to ask when faced with temptation is "then what?" Whatever it is you are being tempted to do ... whatever way you are being tempted to believe there is something better for you than what God has planned ... whatever way you are struggling with doubting whether God's goodness and grace is sufficient for your fulfillment and satisfaction ... ask yourself this - then what?

Ok, so I give in (be it a shopping binge, a six pack, a website) ... then what? Well, I enjoy it, for a minute. Then I'm faced with consequences and still left with no real satisfaction. Pretty simple exercise, doesn't take long, appeals to our rational minds. So, if this is so simple, why aren't more people doing this and avoiding falling for temptation and the emptiness that follows? Maybe this battle is not only fought in our minds.

If Adam and Eve had done this ... "ok, we eat the fruit, then what?" Ah yes, but they were lied to. They probably would have answered "then we have more knowledge, then we get to experience the best fruit in the whole garden, then we know what God knows" ... and all of this sounded appealing to them. But it was a lie. If they had recognized the lie, and believed what Gods said, the "then what?" question could have been valuable, with answer being: "we'll die."

So, two things must be considered in order for this to work:

1. You must be aware of the lie embedded in the temptation. No one is ever tempted to feel empty and deceived. We are tempted by things we think are good, things we think will satisfy. What we have to recognize is that we're being lied to! Then, when we ask "then what?" the correct answers will follow: we'll feel deceived, empty, still unfulfilled, and even more susceptible to the same temptation.

2. This exercise is helpful to get our minds thinking right, but we must also recognize that the battle is not only in the mind. I can understand in principle that giving into the temptation won't really work and still fall for it b/c the desire of the human heart for satisfaction is strong, and not always rational. That's why we must also be in the habit of regularly seeking the Lord, loving him with "all our hearts," and experiencing a deep soul satisfaction (Psalm 63:5).

So, the discipline of nurturing our hearts with God's grace, and setting our minds with God's truth can lead to victory in times of temptation, and a deeper satisfaction than anything offered in this dry and weary land (Psalm 63:1).