Temperance: Saying No to Temptation

Scripture:

Luke 4:1-13

Quick Summary:

After Jesus was baptized, he went out to the desert and didn’t eat for 40 days. He was tempted to turn rocks to food, but he didn’t. He was tempted to worship Satan for power over the world, but he didn’t. He was tempted to test God by acting dangerously, but he didn’t. The same Holy Spirit that helped Jesus resist temptation can help us say no to temptation too. 

The Point:

Jesus says no to temptations. Saying no to temptations is the virtue temperance.

Questions for Family Time:

                  1.      What does Temperance mean?

a.      Saying no to temptations.

                  2.      Who was tempted in today’s story?

a.      Jesus

                  3.      What temptations are the hardest for you to say no to?

a.      (taking things that aren’t mine, lying, being mean to people who are mean)

Deeper:

It is not a sin to be tempted, but it is a sin to say yes to that temptation. Temptation is a very personal thing, too. Jesus’ temptations were around using his power for self gratification from physical needs to political power, to taking unnecessary risks just because he could. How could he resist them?

The answer comes in the story that comes before this one. During Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit came down and took up residence in Jesus. That same Spirit (the third person of our Triune God) takes up residence in us when we decide to follow Jesus. When we say “I let Jesus into my heart” that Spirit is the resident. Throughout the Bible, we find the Holy Spirit give us power to overcome sins that we just can’t resist by ourselves. Sin can hold us hostage, and make us feel like prisoners forced to give into temptation. The Holy Spirit breaks those chains and gives us the power to say, “No!”

Perhaps there is a temptation in your life, that no matter how hard you try, it just keeps leading you into sin. God calls us to stop relying on our own will power alone to resist those temptations, and to rely on his Holy Spirit to see us through. This is why the first steps in 12 Step programs like AA and NA include asking a higher power for help. Even if your temptation isn’t drugs or alcohol, if you really want to conquer it, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to reside within you and help you to say no. Only through the Spirit’s power can any of us find lasting temperance, and with that temperance freedom and peace. 

Personal Reflection:

What temptation am I struggling to say no to? Have I asked the Holy Spirit to help me overcome it?

Prudence: Knowing Right and Wrong

Scripture:

Matthew 2:1-12

Quick Summary:

The Magi followed a star to Judea to find the new king of the Jews. They stopped by the capital Jerusalem and asked King Herod where to find him. King Herod told them scripture said Bethlehem…and if they found a new king to let him know. After finding Jesus, the new king of God’s people, the Magi had a dream that told them King Herod only wanted to know where Jesus was so he could kill Jesus. Even though they disobeyed the king, they left the country without telling Herod where Jesus was. That saved Jesus’ life, THE RIGHT THING!

The Point:

The Magi showed prudence (knowing right from wrong) by not telling the king where Jesus was, even though they were told to. 

Questions for Family Time:

   1.      What does Prudence mean?

a.      Knowing right from wrong.

   2.      Why could it have been hard to know right from wrong for the Magi?

a.      Because usually it is right to obey the king, but this time disobeying the king was right.

   3.      Why was it “right” to disobey the king?

a.      Because the king was going to kill Jesus, and killing someone is wrong.

   4.      When was a time when it was hard to tell right from wrong?

a.      (maybe you had to break a promise, or go against what an adult has told you, or tell a secret)

Deeper:

               Usually, rules help us know what is right and what is wrong, but sometimes like in our story today, the rules actually require us to do something wrong. Think about some of the rules your kids know. Rule: You don’t tell other people secrets.  A good rule most of the time, but what if that secret is about your best friend being abused by one of their family members? Then, the right thing is to break the rule. Rule: Obey adults. What if an adult tells you to do something unsafe? Or go somewhere unsafe with them? Then doing the right thing means breaking the rule.

While most of the time, rules make it clear what is right and what is wrong, sometimes they don’t. I am sure, like me, that you want your kids to be able to make the right decision when the exceptions come along especially since adulthood is riddled with gray moments where right and wrong is hard to decipher. Do I give money, because that is a good thing to do, to a family member struggling with addictions when they will use it for drugs, which is not good for them? Do I volunteer, because it is good to serve others, despite already being stretched too thin to care for my family? Knowing what the difference between right and wrong gets harder the older we get, so now is the time for our kids to start working through the spots that don’t follow the general rules for life.

One of the gifts we have for figuring out what is right and what is wrong is prayer. God sent a dream to the Magi to help them discern right and wrong. When we find ourselves in gray moments, we can go to God and talk to people whose discernment we trust, to figure out the right thing to do. Those two acts take time. So the first step in knowing right and wrong, is giving yourself time. When that addicted family member come up to you, you don’t reach for your wallet. Instead, you say, “Let me pray about it first.” Time allows us the space we need to hear God tell us the way home, just as he did with the Magi.

Personal Reflection:

What do I do when it is hard to tell right from wrong? What tools do I use? What situation right now am I struggling to know what to do in?