How to Be Faithful When Facing Temptations
Every day we face temptations. Every day we have a choice to either succumb to or overcome the temptation. Paul knew this struggle well when we he wrote the letter of Colossians to the Christians in Colosse as encouragement. There were two types of temptations that plagued the church: (1) to live life according to society’s standards (doing whatever they wanted); and (2) to be tied to the legality of the law (Jewish standards).
From Paul’s encouragement in Colossians 3:1-14, we can find three helpful tips to overcoming temptations:
1. We need to constantly prioritise God (v. 1-4).
As Christians, we’re called to set our hearts to the things above. How do we do this? In the passage, Paul reminds the Colossians that Jesus is seated in Heaven next to Father. This is where we should keep our line of sight. We must set our minds to the reality of heaven which is evident through Jesus next to the Father, and in the hope of his coming again.
Yet, our struggle is because we put eternal things over temporary worldly things. Like the Colossians, our thoughts and actions don’t show that our eyes are set on things above.
At the end of the day, temptations will always be around us. This means that we must always be ready and prepared to face them. And how do we prepare ourselves? We must reflect on how we spend our free time. If we choose to fill our minds and time with our own desires or satisfactions, we are prioritising ourselves over God. This leaves us open to falling into the temptations that we face. When we let God occupy our life more than ourselves, this truly shows that we are prioritising God. And when we can truly set our eyes on the things above, we can be confident in sharing in the glory of Christ.
2. We need to constantly reject our old ways of life (v. 5-10).
As Christians, there are two major periods in our life: before knowing Christ, and after knowing Christ. In his writing to the Corinthian church, Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” When we encounter Christ, we are made new. But how can a new being continue to live the life of our old self?
The temptation to live as our old selves is strong and alluring. Society is a constant pressure around us, showing us what it would be like to return to our old selves. However, we are called to live a radical life which is the polar opposite of this world. We need to live like Christ.
One of the major characteristics that has emerged in our society is the culture of instant gratification. Everything is at our convenience and everything is at our fingertips. We’ve knowingly or unknowingly been conditioned to worship the culture of instant gratification.
This is one of the reasons it’s so hard to be a Christian. Anything worthy or difficult requires patience and endurance, particularly actively waiting for Christ’s coming. And yet, that should be no deterrent for us. As Christ lived a radical life in his time, we can look to him as an example of what it means to worship only God. If there are things that are stopping us from doing this, it simply means that we need to remove these things from our life.
3. We need to constantly live in the new life (v. 11-14).
Paul encourages us to live like the citizens of the Kingdom of God. We need to understand that when we choose to believe in Christ, we instantly become part of his Kingdom on Earth until Christ comes back. That means we don’t have to wait until Jesus returns to experience the fullness of life that God promises.
While sin will always be a present force while we’re on this Earth, we are now residents of God’s kingdom. As his residents, Paul instructs us to put on new clothes. Clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, patience and gentleness, much like Christ. We are to apply to ourselves a new culture, marked by love and forgiveness. These are all characteristics of the God’s kingdom as they are the characteristics that reflect it’s king.
Father God,
Thank you for the love and mercy you have shown us through sacrificing your son, Jesus Christ. I pray that we choose to live a life that puts you first above all else. Just like Christ was tempted, I pray that we are able to overcome the temptations by living a new transformed life in you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.