Hunched Over

READ: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

When you are tempted, [God] will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Politicians want to see inside your backpack. They’re weighing in on just how much your back can stand.

In the US, nearly 5,000 students are sent packing to emergency rooms every year because of backpack-related injuries. A New Jersey lawmaker says, “I was in the Army and these kids are carrying bigger backpacks than what we used to carry. These kids are hunched over.”

It’s nice that politicians care about our spines. But there’s a bigger weight problem all of us face—the weight of temptation. What are you being tempted to do today? Lie? Cheat? Goof off at work? Look at dirty pictures on a Web site?

God knows all about this weight problem. And He’s giving you a way to lighten the load. All you have to do is recognize it. But if you’re hunched over, under the weight of temptation, you might have a hard time looking up and seeing the way out.

In a letter to the church at Corinth, Paul reminded the people of the times Israel had given in to temptation. The people thought they were standing tall and strong (1 Corinthians 10:12). They didn’t even recognize the dangers.

So the first step is to learn to recognize when temptation comes calling. Don’t let yourself become so used to the weight that you don’t even notice the pressure anymore.

Next, remember that the kinds of temptations weighing you down have also been experienced by others. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man” (v.13). Even Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are” (Hebrews 4:15). You’re not alone.

The third step is the most exciting. “When you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). God wants you to learn to say, “No, I don’t have to give in to sin. What are my options?”

There’s always an alternative to giving in, always something else you can do instead. Rise up under the weight of temptation and look for the way God wants you to go. Don’t stay hunched over! —Tracy Carbaugh

REFLECTION

• Am I feeling “hunched over” today? What temptation is weighing me down? What is the way out that God is providing for me?
• Does someone I know feel the weight of the same temptations I do? How can we work together to get out from under them?

Don’t wait—flee temptation’s weight!

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