A
thought by David Jeremiah (2015-04-01) from his book, What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do (p. 54). David C. Cook.
Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to
Amazon.com to buy the book.)
Have you
come to realize that?
David is
taking the time in this book of going through the NT letter of James. It is a very practical letter. Now in this
section David is takes us through a problem we all have, the problem of
temptation.
Now that
sets up this thought. David says, “Instead
of resisting, refocus! The more you fight a feeling, the more it grabs you.
What you resist tends to persist! Since temptation begins with your inner thoughts,
changing your thoughts is the key to victory.”
David quotes
Mark McMinn, in his book Dealing with Desires You Can’t Control, who writes, “The key is not eliminating
temptation, but managing temptation. For example, pretend you’re on a diet.
After you finish your chef salad with low-cal Italian dressing, the waiter
returns with a tray of sumptuous desserts. You have an impulse to eat dessert,
but your well-reasoned side insists on abstinence. How likely is it that any
self-management strategy will eliminate that conflict? … Trying to eliminate
temptation makes it harder to manage.”
David then
says, “Anyone who has trained a dog to obey knows this scene. A bit of meat or
bread is placed on the floor near the dog and the master says, 'No!' which the
dog knows means that he must not touch it. The dog will usually take his eyes
off the food, because the temptation to disobey would be too great otherwise,
and instead will fix his eyes on the master’s face. That is the lesson of the
dog. Always look to the Master’s face.”
This is the idea of replacement.
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