You’re Your Own Worst Enemy (1:13-21)
Once James tells us to rejoice in our temptations and the ways to overcome that temptation, he continues to something that most Christians miss. He says in a nutshell, “Hey! You are the reason that you’re tempted.” Listen to verse 14: “But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” (Emphasis added). Friend, you and I are the reason we are tempted. There are things that you know will become temptations if you spend too much time looking at them,
A perfect example of this point is found in Genesis 13. We find the servants of Lot and the servants of his uncle Abraham (still called Abram at this point) in a disagreement. Abraham offers a solution: that the two men take their respective sheep, servants, etc. and separate. There are four things that I would like to point out about Lot that go perfectly with this passage in the Book of James. Notice:
Lot Looked (Gen. 13:10)
In verse 10, we find Lot looking around at the world. I would like to encourage you to not even look at the things the world is offering. Now, I know that there are some things that you can’t avoid seeing. But you can keep yourself from playing the “Woe is me…I wish I had _____…”
Lot Lusted (Gen. 13:10b, 13)
Verse 10 tells us that Lot noticed that the plains of Sodom were “well watered”. I imagine that the lush landscaped made him desire that area. the issue is that he should not have been desirous of the area of Sodom and Gomorrah in the first place.
Let me give you another reason I believe we can see Lot’s lust evidenced. Look at the wording of verse 13: “…and pitched his tent toward Sodom.”If you pitch you life in such a way that when you get up every morning sin is there; when you go to bed each night sin is there; when you watch your children play sin is there – then it’s safe to assume that you are lusting after that sin.
This lust turned into action because the next time we see Lot (in Genesis 19) he is a leader of Sodom, sitting in the gate of the city.
Lot Lingered (Gen. 19:16)
The angels have already been to Lot and his family. They told him of a coming, imminent destruction. He’s told his family and the laughed at him. Even after all that we see in verse 16 that “he lingered”. It’s almost as if he starts thinking that everyone else is right and the angels are wrong.
He was so deep in sin that the prospect of God’s judgement had lost it’s effect on him after only a few short minutes. Sin’s hold was so strong that the angels had to literally grab his hand and drag him from the city.
Lot Lost (Gen. 19:14-38)
There are things that Lot lost in his life because of his sin.
- He lost his influence (Gen. 19:14)
- He lost his fear of God (Gen. 19:16)
- He lost his wife (Gen. 19:26)
- He lost his children (Gen. 19:31-38)
Sin will take you farther than you want to go; it’ll keep you longer than you want to stay; it’ll cost you more than you want to pay.
Guard your eyes and guard you heart. “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
-S.G.
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