Sin and Temptation

09-16

The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it. --Saint Vincent de Paul

“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody." ... [My dark side says,] I am no good... I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.” – Henri Nouwen

1. By counsel
We can help participate in other people’s sins when we advise them on how to accomplish that sin. Have you ever said, “If I was in your situation I would…” and then suggest something contrary to the Gospel message of love? If so then you have participated in someone’s sin through the act of counsel.

2. By command
We can participate in another person’s sin when we command them to do something that we know is contrary to the Gospel. Sometime we do this simply by giving the person an ultimatum: “Behave this way or else?

3. By consent
Sometimes we can flat out directly participate in another’s sin by becoming an accomplice. Whenever we give our consent or permission to someone to do something evil we are partially responsible for the immoral activity that takes place.

4. By provocation
We can also find ourselves responsible for someone’s bad behavior when we provoke them into making a bad choice. I believe we have all done this at one time or another with our families as I am sure at one time or another we have intentionally made a family member grow angry with us.

5. By praise or flattery
We can also produce more sin in the world by rewarding those who sin with positive attention through words of praise and flattery after they have done something wrong. We seem to encourage each other to commit sins because we feel that we are less culpable if we are doing what everyone else is doing. We also find ourselves more susceptible to sin when we think it will gain us fame and/or prestige. By refusing to praise or flatter someone who is committing a sin we can make the sin become less appealing.

6. By concealment
One does not have to become a snitch but if a person assists a person in hiding a serious sin or situation, then one has committed a sin also. We in fact become accomplices even if we do not perform the same act.

7. By partaking
If we join another person in committing the same sin, we by the fact that we are committing a sin with someone have become co-sinners with the other people.

8. By silence
Holocaust survivor, philosopher, and author Elie Wiesel had this to say about silence and sin: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

9. By defense of the ill done
We can also assist someone by defending the ill (sin) committed. If instead of pointing a person in the right direction we point them in the wrong direction or if we keep encouraging them down the wrong path, then we too have committed a sin.

The seven deadly sins or capital sins are special because they are the root of all other sins. They are "deadly" because if they are left untreated they spread throughout our whole mindset and ways of living. Since I am a visual learner and grew up in the 80's I like to think of them like the ghosts in video game Pac-Man because they are in relentless pursuit of my soul. The ghosts in the Pac-Man game were only vulnerable to one thing and that was a power pellet. I see the power pellets as special moments of grace that God gives us when we asks Him for them. They often manifests themselves as virtues. Each of the seven deadly sins are really a distorted way of thinking and it is this distorted way of thinking that produces more and more sins.

PRIDE
Pride distorts reality by placing myself as the center of reality instead of God. A prideful person falls into sin easily because he or she places such a high importance on him or herself.

The power pellet antidote to pride is humility. To be humble does not mean to hate oneself but rather to place oneself in the proper place in reality basically admitting that there is a God and we are not Him.

Envy
Envy distorts reality by making us resentfully focus on other gifts and not on the gifts God has given us. Envy distorts reality also by placing myself in competition with others instead of seeing them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The power pellet antidote for envy is gratitude. When we are grateful for the gifts that we have and that other people have different gifts then we appreciate the differences God has given us and we see the need for all of us to work together.

Wrath
Wrath is disordered anger. When we let wrath define our reality we head into trouble because with wrath their is no room for forgiveness and mercy. All that matters is revenge and force.

The power pellet antidote for wrath is forgiveness. We are challenged by God not to be all powerful but to be all loving. When we forgive we say to ourselves and others that God decides my values not others.

Sloth
Sloth is more than just laziness. It is really a lack of zeal. God gave us this life and wishes us to make the most of it. Slothful people don't take time to appreciate all that life has to offer.

The power pellet antidote for sloth is zeal. Get up and do something. Take your faith seriously and get involved in the Church.

Avarice
Avarice better known as greed distorts reality by placing material goods above spiritual goods.

The power pellet antidote for avarice is charity. It is only by giving of ourselves that we find the true joy that Jesus offers us.

Gluttony
Gluttony is more than the over consumption of food it is also a lack of trust in God. If we feel that we have to hoard everything then we do not trust that God will provide for us. It is also bad stewardship if we over consume to the point that others are not able to consume enough.

The power pellet antidote for gluttony is temperance and self-mortification. It is always a good spiritual practice to deny ourselves just a little from time to time to remind ourselves that we need God more than material things and to also allow us to feel in a small way the way those who go without feel. Temperance should always help inspire us to greater charity.

Lust
Lust the last of the seven deadly sins is all about desiring someone so much that we no longer see that person as a person but now we see him or her as an object to fulfill our needs. John Paul II stated it so beautifully "the opposite of love is not hate but rather objectification."

The power pellet antidote for lust is chastity. When one practices chastity one decides to treat his or her sexuality as a gift of God and promises to always treat a person as a person and never as an object.

The following is from Stumbling Blocks And Stepping Stones Spiritual Answers To Psychological Questions by Benedict J. Groeschel. I believe it gives some good solid steps in order to overcome temptation.

A helpful resolution is to remain calm and accept the fact that resisting temptation is bound to cause discomfort. Many succumb to temptation because they are not prepared to endure the discomfort of hours of anxiety that temptation may entail.

1. Get away from the situation involving the temptation. This is called “breaking the set” in psychological terms. Places, people, situations often “trigger” temptation. Insofar as it is possible, these occasions should be avoided. If you find yourself in such a situation, move away quickly. Sometimes the trigger has nothing to do directly with the temptation. For some, anxiety and fatigue can be the most dangerous situations.

2. Relax. Temptations are highly charged with anxiety. Reducing anxiety will usually reduce temptation. Anyone being tempted should avoid “hassles,” even if they appear to have little to do with the temptation itself. The famous slogans of Alcoholics Anonymous, “Let go and let God” and “Easy does it,” both reflect the fact that temptations to compulsive sin are related to high levels of anxiety.

3. Spend time in prayer. Meditation that is quiet and trusting is most helpful. This may not be easy but it should be done as well as possible. If you are too distracted to pray from your heart, use some formal prayer, but make it brief.

4. Finally, stand back and evaluate the whole situation. Anyone who is tempted often should step back and, with the help of spiritual friend, ask what may be done to reorganize his way of life to deal more successfully with this difficulty. There may be a need for counseling or spiritual direction.

5. Someone struggling with a compulsive problem may realize the need for a supportive group like AA or Courage. Another may recognize that his situation or jobs need to be changed radically to improve the spiritual quality of life.

Overcoming temptation often means taking legitimate care of oneself by getting out of a rut or giving up being a doormat or a sad sack.

991 You need to fear only one thing: sin.
When he was the patriarch of Constantinople, John Chrysostom incurred the wrath of the Byzantine court for his strong denunciation of sin in the Emperor’s family. Various plans were suggested as means or exacting revenge on the saint.
Plan A: Imprisonment. “But” court officials protested, “there he will have the opportunity to pray and suffer for the Lord as he has always desired.”
Plan B Banishment “Bu for him, everywhere is the Lord’s country.”
Plan C Death. “But then we will satisfy his desire to be a martyr… None of these plans will cause him to suffer; on the contrary, he will joyfully accept them.
“No, there is only one thing John fears and hates above all else: sin. But it is impossible to force him to commit sin!”
If you fear sin only, no one will be stronger than you.

Thuan, Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan: The Road Of Hope: A Gospel from Prison (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2001)

Some one gave me the following signs of pride. She did not know who the author was though.
I hope you find it helpful.

1. Fault finding. Spiritual pride causes us to talk about other people’s sins with laughter or contempt, frustration or irritation. Humility on the other hand speaks with grief and love.

2. Ministering in a harsh spirit. Those who have the sickness of pride in their hearts speak of others sins with contempt, irritation, and frustration of judgment.

Christians who are but fellow-worms ought at least to treat one another with as much humility and gentleness as Christ treats them.

3. Faking it with people. When pride lurks in our hearts we are far more concerned with others perception of us then the reality of our hearts. We fight the sins that effect how others perceive us and make peace with the ones that no one sees. We have great success in the areas of holiness that have high visible accountability, but little concern for the disciplines that happen in secret.

4. Easily offended. True humility feels no need to defend self. It is not concerned with rights, but instead just continues in doing good, entrusting the soul to our faithful creator.

For the humble Christian, the more the world is against him, the more silent and still he will be, unless it is in his prayer closet, and there he will not be still.

5. Presumption before God. Humility approaches God with humble confidence in Christ Jesus. Some of us have no shortage of boldness before God, but if we’re not careful we can forget that He is God.
Some, in their great rejoicing before God, have not paid sufficient regard to that rule in Psalm 2:11 — Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling.

Sometimes we feel no confidence before God. Sounds like humility, but in reality it’s another symptom of pride. In those moments we are testifying that we believe our sins are greater than His grace. We doubt the power of Christ’s blood and we have a gaze set on self instead of Christ.

6. Hungry for Attention. Eek. This one hits a nerve for me.
Pride is hungry for attention, respect, and worship, in all it’s forms. Maybe it looks like being the person up front boasting. Maybe it looks like being the person who is unable to say ‘no’ to anyone because you are hungry to be needed. Maybe it looks like thirsting for marriage, or a better marriage, because you are hungry to be made much of.

7. Neglecting others. Pride honors only those who the world deems worthy of honor. There’s a thrill that goes through me when people with ‘power’ acknowledge me. There’s an eagerness to respond to emails about my blog when I recognize the name of the sender.

The reality is, I struggle with pride. Good news. I can use that realization to fight pride. I can turn to the glorious Gospel in which we stand and make much of God: His grace and forgiveness. I can confess my inability to overcome this horrific heart and rely on His strength to deliver me even from the hardest and the most arrogant of hearts.

Repent and believe that His Spirit is stronger than your flesh.