Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 15, 2022 - Tuesday in the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 1:12-18 and Mark 8:14-21]Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. No one experiencing temptation should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. [James]
I cannot read these words from the Letter of James without remembering the comic Flip Wilson who would put on a wig and dress and pretend to be an outrageous lady named Geraldine. Geraldine would pretend to have a bad angel on one shoulder and a good angel on the other. The two would constantly be giving conflicting advice. When Geraldine would do something exorbitant, she would exclaim, "The devil made me buy that dress!" (Or do something else!) How many of us are likely to say the same thing!
The physiology and psychology of addiction and compulsion are well known. When these take hold, we lose the ability to make reasoned decisions and require professional assistance to regain responsibility for our own lives. But absent addiction and compulsion, the words of the Letter of James are sound spiritual and theological advice. God tempts no one since we humans are "hard-wired" by God for ultimate happiness and God does not place obstacles to that goal. However, we are also "hard-wired" for freedom as a way of reaching that goal, and it is here that we humans often fail, like Adam and Eve, to see through the empty promises of the Evil One. These include notions that God "can't tell ME what to do!" Or our appetites for consumption get the best of us and we become unhealthy or "consumed" by what we consume! It has been pointed out many times that a lot of sin is the result of overdoing a good thing!
It is a good and healthy thing to be aware of the major temptations in our lives and be on guard, as best we can, against them. We will not be perfect in this (otherwise we would be God!) but we can always do a better job of it. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important way God's mercy reaches out to us when we fail. We are powerful enough to resist with the help of God's grace, but it's up to us to accept that grace and do our part. AMEN