| Bugs Bunny dares Yosemite Sam to cross the line |
Every once in a while a scene from one of these animated treasures floats to the surface of my memory and offers a valuable life lesson.
Seems unlikely, I know, but stick with me while I connect the dots.
The other day, I mentioned to a coworker that I wouldn't trust myself to sit alone in an office with unopened boxes of pies, as she had been doing all day. I have restraint issues when it comes to baked goods, so I have to draw some hard boundary lines in order to prevent myself from overindulging. (See my post on weight loss for more on that.)
That conversation got me thinking about boundaries and the danger of trusting ourselves, or our willpower, in other words.
In the clip above, poor Yosemite Sam gets duped when Bugs Bunny dares him to cross a line again and again until he eventually falls off a cliff.
Can you relate? I know I can.
Just like that cliff off in the distance, we can look at any of the seven deadly sins and think, "I'd never fall into that. You'd have to be an idiot to get tripped-up that badly."
But Satan knows just how to position us where he wants us. He draws a line and dares us to cross it. Then he draws another. We might follow with some trepidation at first, but if we keep going, our inhibitions diminish and even disappear as we continually defy the Holy Spirit's conviction.
We tell ourselves that we're in control of the situation even as we're in the midst of compromising, one wayward step at a time—until we fall.
Thankfully, Christ-followers can avoid the rabbit trail to destruction with much greater success than our pal Yosemite.
3 Keys to Overcoming Temptation
1. Check Yo' Self
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith..." (1 Peter 5:8,9).
Likewise, the enemy of our souls knows how to pinpoint our personal weaknesses. He's not going to waste much effort tempting you with greed if generosity is one of your strongpoints. If possessions have a hold on you, however, you'll want to be on guard against temptations to acquire excess.
The 7 Deadly Sins are a good place to start if you'd like to identify your greatest weaknesses by considering the areas where you struggle most often:
• Lust • Gluttony • Greed • Sloth • Wrath • Envy • Pride
2. Draw the Line
"...Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Philippians 2:12,13).
I like how The Amplified Bible expands the translation of "fear and trembling" in this way: "self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ."So, when we draw our boundary lines, we should proceed with fear and trembling, distrusting ourselves with a tender conscience, desiring to honor Christ's Name above all else.
Don't let the enemy draw lines for you (as Bugs Bunny did for Yosemite Sam). Gain the upper hand by prayerfully drawing your own lines. And when you do...
Remember to be specific: "Don't flirt with men at work" is a good general goal if you're attempting to keep a committed relationship pure. The line might get fuzzy, however, if you begin to work closely with an attractive and funny guy at the office. More specific boundaries might look like:
- Don't wear a low neckline or short hemline to work.
- Limit physical contact with the opposite gender to handshakes or fist bumps.
- Limit phone calls or personal messages with the opposite gender to work-related subjects only.
Consider the "near occasion of sin": I first encountered this concept in Catechism class as I memorized the Act of Contrition. The near occasion of sin is defined as "Any person, place, or thing that of its nature or because of human frailty can lead one to do wrong, thereby committing sin" (Modern Catholic Dictionary).
If you crave sweets like I do, the bakery aisle at the grocery store can be a near occasion of sin (that's why I avoid it at all costs). If you struggle with envy, it's probably a bad idea to scroll through your wealthy friend's facebook photos and get fumed over her designer clothes and Mediterranean vacations. If lust is a weakness of yours, you might put your laptop or smartphone away overnight in a place where you won't be tempted to reach for them until morning. (For an example of the near occasion of sin, read in context Proverbs 5:8 and 7:7-9.)
If you crave sweets like I do, the bakery aisle at the grocery store can be a near occasion of sin (that's why I avoid it at all costs). If you struggle with envy, it's probably a bad idea to scroll through your wealthy friend's facebook photos and get fumed over her designer clothes and Mediterranean vacations. If lust is a weakness of yours, you might put your laptop or smartphone away overnight in a place where you won't be tempted to reach for them until morning. (For an example of the near occasion of sin, read in context Proverbs 5:8 and 7:7-9.)
3. Make Up Your Mind
"… Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14,15).
Think of your thought-life like a game of pinball. When a thought pops up, you can either keep it going and let it zig and zag and rack up points, or you can let it drop. If a wicked or depressed thought surfaces in your mind, you don't have to let it ping around in your head all day. The more it pings, the more momentum it gains, the more enticing it becomes, the more difficult it is to let it drop.Like the passage in James above suggests, the trail to sin and death is blazed when we entertain our evil desires.
To avoid that path, we can make a conscious decision to replace our wrong thoughts with holy thoughts:
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:1,2).
We can refocus our thoughts through:
- Familiarity with Scripture, as demonstrated by Jesus in the desert: See Matthew 4:1-11
- Praying for God's strength to face temptation: See Matthew 6:13 and Luke 22:39-46
- Do you have any other keys to add to the list?
- How do you decide where to draw boundary lines in your life?
- How tempted are you to watch a reel of Warner Bros. cartoons on YouTube right now?
