Temptation, Part II

Scott Hahn
From the Jul/Aug 2003 Issue of Lay Witness Magazine

Dr. Scott Hahn is professor of theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH. He received his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in biblical theology from Marquette University.This series explores God’s fatherhood, drawing from Sacred Scripture and the Church’s Tradition. This is the tenth installment.

Dr. Hahn’s numerous books, including Understanding “Our Father”: Biblical Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer, Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God, and Catholic for a Reason II: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God, may be ordered by calling Benedictus Books toll-free at (888) 316-2640. CUF members receive a 10% discount.

Though we often pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” we know that temptations are inevitable. Moreover, we know that God permits these trials for our good. In the last article, we saw that temptations serve to refine us, “like gold in the furnace” (Wis. 3:6). Now, we’ll examine how that works.

It’s fair for us to ask, after all, why God leads us to face such severe trials. If He wants to know the strength of our faith, He doesn’t need to test us to measure it. He knows everything. He knows how weak we are. So temptations don’t uncover anything for Him. He doesn’t learn anything through the process of our trials.

We, however, have much to learn about ourselves—especially in the area of our most besetting sins. For we’re only too willing to overlook our own faults, weaknesses, and habits of sin. Pride and vanity blind us to all but our virtues and earthly accomplishments, feeble as they are.

But our trials often turn out to be our most teachable moments. They’re the times when we most keenly sense our weakness and need. In fact, we usually discover our deepest need through our weakness. If we don’t feel pain acutely, we don’t have the sense to cry out for a doctor. Until we feel hunger intensely, we probably won’t go begging for food. Our times of trial are the times when we know our inadequacy, and we’re most likely to call upon Our Heavenly Father.

In his First Letter to the Corinthians (10:12-16), St. Paul tells us, in four steps, how temptation works to a Christian’s advantage.

1. “[L]et any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” St. Paul begins by pointing out our weakness and our need for humility. Remember St. Peter’s bluster: “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (Lk. 22:33). He thought he was strong; but, within a few hours, he would commit the most cowardly denial of his Master—three times! He thought he would stand tall, and instead he fell hard. He would have been better off praying that God spare him the temptation.
   
2. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” St. Paul says this not to minimize our pain, but to give us comfort. We should take heart, because others have faced our trials (and worse) and persevered. The history of God’s dealings with the saints is full of good, practical examples we can follow—in prayer, in patience, and in acting courageously.
   
3. “God is faithful,” St. Paul says, “and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” This promise should give us great hope. For nobody can make it through life’s “common” temptations, at least not without God’s help. But the good news is that God will never abandon us, and He is greater than any power that afflicts us. Even if Satan himself should attack us, we will prevail if we remain faithful. Saint Cyprian said, “[T]he Adversary can do nothing against us except God shall have previously permitted it.”[1] God knows the limits of our strength, and He is always willing to share His own omnipotence, so that we can endure even the most severe trials without sinning.
   
4. “Therefore, my beloved, shun the worship of idols. . . . The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” Ah, there it is, our “way of escape,” and it is nothing less than “our daily bread.” St. Paul demonstrates that the Eucharist is our help and our hope, because it is our communion with the flesh and blood of the God-man. Through the Sacrament, we grow strong with a godlike strength. And what are the idols we must shun? Idols are the things we think will get us through the trials, though they never can. They’re the things of this world—sometimes very good things—that we’ve come to place before God in our lives. Idols make temptations necessary for us. For temptations serve to wean us from our dependence on anything less than God. Nothing less than God can really save us. What’s the opposite of idolatry? It’s Eucharistic dependence, our holy need for God. The temptations that we face are meant to humble us and make us depend on God to the utmost.

That’s why “lead us not into temptation” is the prayer of a Christian with a healthful sense of reality. It’s a good prayer for weaklings—like you and me— who know their strength, and know God’s.

[1] Treatise on the Lord’s Prayer, no. 25.

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