One morning, there was a small boy whose Dad told him that he should not go swimming in the canal. Later that afternoon the boy came home, carrying a wet bathing suit.

“Where have you been?”

The boy responded, “Swimming in the canal.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to swim there?” The boy said, “Yes, sir.”

“Then, why did you?”

He answered, “Well, dad, I had my bathing suit with me and I couldn’t resist the temptation.”

“Why did you take your swimming suit?”

He said, “Well, so I’d be ready to swim just in case I was tempted.”

Lent is a special time to recognize temptation in our lives. As Scripture describes it, it takes one of three forms: hunger, false worship, and testing of God, that is, not trusting God.

Hunger: ask yourself when was the last time you were tempted to over eat, over drink, or over do anything; success, pleasure.

False Worship: this when you give up on God and the center of your life becomes money, material wealth, power over others at home, work, school, on the highway; or the latest in anything that is the newest and best. This is called lust. Lust does not necessarily or only refer to sexual temptation. Lust is any overpowering desire to satisfy a need by possessing an object, a person, a position by choosing a certain course of action.

Test of trust in God: this where you bargain with God in prayer or if you think in this way ...  “A God of love wouldn’t let good people suffer, allow disease or destruction.”

Jesus does not give in to temptation. He demonstrates that the temptation to satisfy hunger, to indulge in false worship, or to test God can be resisted. The message in society today: if it feels good, do it. In other words, there are no limits, no rules, nor moral guides on what we should expect of ourselves or others. But that doesn’t work. There are always consequences, for better or worse, to whatever we do. We all have responsibilities.

What are the values you hold up in your life? How are you trying to discover the direction in which God is leading you or helping you in the decisions and choices on the journey of life? Jesus is the role model. In each instance of temptation, Jesus was prepared. His responses were drawn from his religious upbringing and the commandments and precepts of his family life.

All of his preparation helped him to be open to the call of God upon his life and to have the strength to resist temptation. Jesus was prepared to resist temptation. We are often prepared to give in to it. What are your temptations?

“No test has been sent to you that does not come to all. God keeps his promise. He will not let you be tested beyond your strength. Along with the test he will give you a way out of it so that you may be able to endure it.”

May your Lenten fasting, prayer and almsgiving prepare you for a deeper understanding of your baptismal life, that is, your daily life with God.