The Escape Route

Imagine, a person calls the fire department while trapped in their burning home. When firefighters arrive and show the person a clear path to safety, the person chooses to stay inside the inferno. Or, consider the prisoner who petitions the court to be exonerated. Once cleared of charges, the inmate decides to remain in their prison cell.

Illogical right? Now, imagine the culprit is not some raging fire or dark prison cell but the entrapment of temptation.

Temptation comes in various forms, designed to lure us into doing what we know is wrong by succumbing to sinful desires. Temptation is tailor-made. What is of no consequence to one person is an incapacitating struggle for another. Regardless of its form or approach, temptation is a fact of life we must learn to face.

Today’s text assures us God provides a way of escape from every temptation humankind faces. The question is, when the path through the peril is clear, when the door to freedom swings open, do we choose to take the route of escape? Or do we decide to remain in that fiery blaze just to enjoy the comforts of the condemning fire? Do we choose to remain in our prison cell in order to be reassured by familiar surroundings?

Withstanding or yielding to temptation is always a matter of choice. Taking the route of escape requires the disciple to take a spiritually disciplined approach to life. That is not always easy. But saying no to temptation once strengthens our fortitude to say no again and again.