By James Stalker
"Lead us not into temptation..." Mat 6:13
ONCE, when I was going to address a gathering of young men, I asked a friend on what topic I should speak. "Oh" said he, "there is only one subject worth speaking to young men about, and that is temptation."
Of course he did not mean this literally; he only intended to emphasize the importance of this subject. Was he not right? You remember, in the story of the Garden of Eden where the tree stood which represented temptation. It was in the midst of the garden - - at the point where all the walks converged, where Adam and Eve had to pass it continually. This is a parable of human life. We are out of Paradise now, but the tree of temptation still stands where it stood then-in the midst; where all the roads meet; where we must pass it every day-and every man's weal or woe depends on the attitude towards it which he takes up.
There are six attitudes in any of which we may stand to temptation. First, we may be tempted; secondly, we may have fallen before temptation; thirdly, we may be tempting others; fourthly, we may be successfully resisting temptation; fifthly, we may have outlived temptation; sixthly, we may be assisting others to overcome their temptations.
As I should like these six attitudes to be remembered, let me give them names; and these I shall borrow from the politics of the Continent. Any of you who may glance occasionally into the politics of France or Germany will be aware that in their legislative assemblies there prevails a more minute division into parties or groups, as they are called, than we are accustomed to. In our politics we are content with two great historical parties, the Conservative and the Liberal. At least we used to be; I do not exactly know how many parties there are now; but I had better not enter into that investigation. On the Continent, at all events, as I have said, the subdivision is more extreme than with us. You read of the Group of the Left-centre, the Group of the Left, the Group of the Extreme-left, the Group of the Right-centre, the Group of the Right, and the Group of the Extreme-right. I do not pretend that even these are all, but let us take these as the six names we need for characterizing the six attitudes in which men may stand to temptation.
On the left there are three-first, the Left-centre, by which group I mean those who are being tempted; secondly, the Group of the Left, by which are meant those who have fallen before temptation; thirdly, the Group of the Extreme-left, those, namely, who are tempters of others. And on the right there are three groups-the fourth, that of the Right-centre, containing those who are successfully resisting temptation; the fifth, the Group of the Right, or those who have outlived their temptations; and the sixth and last, the Group of the Extreme-right, containing those who are helping others to resist their temptations.
Let us run rapidly over these six groups.
The Group of the Left-centre, or those who are being tempted.
The reason why I begin with this one is because we have all been in it. Whether we have been in the other groups or not, we have all been in this one: we have all been tempted. One of the first things which we were told, when we were quite young, was that we should be tempted-that we should have to beware of evil companions-and there is not one of us in whose case this prediction has not come true.
There is, indeed, no greater mystery in providence than the unequal proportion in which temptation is distributed among different individuals. Some are comparatively little tempted; others are thrown into a fiery furnace of it, seven times heated. There are in the world sheltered situations, in which a man may be compared to a ship in the harbour, where the waves may sometimes heave a little, but a real storm never comes; there are others, where a man may be compared to the vessel which has to sail the high seas and face the full force of the tempest. Many of you must know well --what this means. Perhaps you know it so well that you feel inclined to say to me, Preacher, you know little about it: if you had to live where we live-if you had to associate with the companions with whom we have to work and hear the kind of language to which we have to listen-you would know better the truth of what you are saying. Do not be too sure of that. Perhaps I know as well about it as you. Perhaps my library is as dangerous a place for me as the market-place or the workshop is for you. Solitude has its temptations as well as society.
St. Anthony of Egypt, before his conversion, was a gay and fast young man of Alexandria, and, when he was converted, he found the temptations of the city so intolerable that he fled to the desert and became a hermit; but he afterwards confessed that in a cell in the wilderness he had encountered worse temptations than those of the city. It would not be safe to exchange our temptations with one another; everyone has his own.
Probably, too, each has his own tempter or temptress. Every man on his journey through life encounters someone who deliberately tries to ruin him. Have you met your tempter yet? Perhaps he is sitting by your side just now. Perhaps it is someone in whose society you delight and of whose acquaintance you are proud; but the day may come when you will curse the hour in which you ever beheld his face. Some of us, looking back, can remember well who our tempter was; and we tremble yet in every limb sometimes, as we remember how nearly we were over the precipice.
One of the principal powers of temptation is that of surprise. It comes when you are not looking for it; it comes from the person and from the quarter you least suspect. Almost unawares we stumble upon the occasion which is for us the hour of destiny, and we know not that it is for our life.
II. The Group of the Left, or those who have fallen before temptation.
Though I do not know this audience, I know human nature well enough to be certain that there are some hearing me who are whispering sadly in their hearts, This is the group I belong to; I have fallen before temptation; it may not be known, it may not even be suspected, but it is true; sin has got the better of me, and I am in its power.
To such I come with a message of hope. The great tempter of men has two devices with which he plies us at two different stages. Before we have fallen, he tells us that one fall does not matter: it is a suspect. Almost unawares we stumble upon the occasion which is for us the hour of destiny, and we know not that it is for our life. Though I do not know this audience, I know human nature well enough to be certain that there are some hearing me who are whispering sadly in their hearts, This is the group I belong to; I have fallen before temptation; it may not be known, it may not even be suspected, but it is true; sin has got the better of me, and I am in its power. To such I come with a message of hope.
The great tempter of men has two devices with which he plies us at two different stages. Before we have fallen, he tells us that one fall does not matter: it is a trifle; why should we not know the taste of the forbidden fruit ? We can easily recover ourselves again. After we have fallen, on the contrary, he tells us that it is hopeless: we are given over to sin, and need not attempt to rise.
Both are false.
It is a terrible falsehood to say that to fall does not matter. Even by one fall there is something lost that can never be recovered. It is like the breaking of an infinitely precious vessel, which may be mended, but will never be again as if it had not been broken. And, besides, one fall leads to others; it is like going upon very slippery ice-even in the attempt to rise you are carried away again. Moreover, we give others a hold over us. If we have not sinned alone, to have sinned once involves a tacit pledge that we will sin again; and it is often almost impossible to get out of such a false position. God keep us from believing that to fall once does not matter!
But then, if we have fallen, our enemy plies us with the other argument: It is of no use to attempt to rise; you cannot overcome your besetting sin. But this is falser still. To those who feel themselves fallen I come, in Christ's name, to say, Yes, you may rise. If we could ascend to heaven to-day and scan the ranks of the blessed, should we not find multitudes among them who were once sunk low as man can fall? But they are washed, they are justified, they are sanctified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. And so may you be.
It is, I know, a doctrine which may be abused; but I will not scruple to preach it to those who are fallen and sighing for deliverance. St. Augustine says that we may, out of our dead sins, make stepping-stones to rise to the heights of perfection. What did he mean by that? He meant that the memory of our falls may breed in us such a humility, such a distrust of self, such a constant clinging to Christ as we could never have had without the experience of our own weakness.
Does not the Scripture itself go even further? David fell deep as man can fall; but what does he say in that great fifty-first Psalm, in which he confesses his sin? Anticipating forgiveness, he sings,
" Then will I teach Thy ways unto
Those that transgressors be,
And those that sinners are shall then
Be turned unto Thee."
And what did our Lord Himself say to St. Peter about his fall? " When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." A man may derive strength to give to others even from having fallen. He may have a sympathy with the erring; he may be able to point out the steps by which to rise; as others cannot do. Thus, by the marvellous grace of God, whose glory it is out of evil still to bring forth more good, out of the eater may come forth meat, and out of the strong may come forth sweetness.
III. The Group of the Extreme-left, or those who are tempters of others.
These three groups on the left form three stages of a natural descent. First, tempted; secondly, fallen; then, if we have fallen, we tempt others to fall.
This is quite natural. If we are down ourselves, we try to get others down beside us; there is a satisfaction in it. To a soul that has become black a soul that is still white is an offence. It is said of some, "They sleep not except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall." There is nothing else, perhaps, in human nature so diabolical as this delight of the wicked in making others like themselves. Have you never seen it? Have you never seen a group of evildoers deliberately set themselves to ruin a newcomer, scoffing at his innocence and enticing him to their orgies? And, when they succeeded, they rejoiced over his hall, as if they had won a great triumph. So low can human nature sink!
Sometimes it may be self-interest that makes a man a tempter. The sin of another may be necessary to secure some end of his own. The dishonest merchant, for his own gain, undermines the honesty of his apprentice; the employer, making haste to be rich, tempts his employes to break the Sabbath; the tyrannical landlord forces his tenants to vote against their consciences. Why, there are trades which flourish on other people's sins.
But perhaps the commonest way to become a tempter is through thoughtlessness. I protest, we have no truth for each other's souls. We trample about amongst these most brittle and infinitely precious things as if they were common ware; and we tempt and ruin one another without even being aware of it. Perhaps, indeed, no one goes down to the place of woe alone; everyone who goes there takes at least another with him. I hear it said nowadays. that the fear of hell no longer moves men's minds; or at least that preachers ought no longer to make use of it as a motive in religion.
Well, I confess, I fear it myself; it is a motive still to me. But I will tell you what I fear ten times more. It is to meet there anyone who will say, You have brought me here; you were my tempter; but for you I might never have come to this place of torment. God forbid that we should ever hear such an accusation as that!
It is a pleasure to turn away from this forbidding side of our subject and look at the bright side at the three groups on the right.
IV. The Group of the Right-centre, or those who are successfully resisting temptation.
Not very long ago a letter chanced to come under my eye which had been written by a young man attending one of the great English universities. One day two or three fellow-students burst into his rooms and asked him to join them in an amusement of a questionable kind. On the spur of the moment he promised; but, when they had gone, he began to think what his parents would say if they knew. It was a godly home he belonged to, and a very happy one, in which the children kept no secrets from their parents. He thought of his home, and he had doubts whether what he had promised to do might not cause pain there. He was afraid it would, and he promptly and frankly went and told his companions that his engagement was off till he should inquire. The letter I saw was the inquiry. I confess it was not easy to read it without emotion, for one could understand how much manliness was required to do that which might easily be interpreted as unmanly.
The memory of that man's home came to him in the hour of temptation, and made him strong to resist. I wonder this influence does not prove a rescuing power oftener than it does. Young men, when you are tempted, think of home. I have been a minister in a provincial town, and, I think, if you could realise the effect produced by the news coming from the city of a son fallen and disgraced-if you could realise the mother's terror, and the father's stricken frame, and the silent, tearful circle, as I have seen them it would make you fling the cup of temptation from your lips, however delirous was the hour and however persuasive was the hand that proffered it.
Yet this will not always be a sufficient motive in the struggle. There will come times when you are tempted to great sin which will appear to you absolutely safe from discovery and not likely to inflict the slightest injury on your fortunes. In such circumstances nothing will avail if you have not learned to respect your own nature and to stand in awe of your own conscience. Nay, even this is not enough the only effective defence is that of one who was sorely tempted in this very way, " How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God ? "
There are secret battles fought and won on this ground never heard of on earth, but essentially more glorious than many victories which are trumpeted far and wide by the breath of fame. There is more of courage and manhood needed for them than for walking up to the cannon's mouth. Walking up to the cannon's mouth! Many a soldier could do that who could not say No to two or three companions pressing him to enter the canteen.
Not long ago I was speaking to a soldier, who told me that many a time he was the only man to go on his knees to pray out of twenty or thirty in the barrack-room; and he did it amidst showers of oaths and derision. Do you think walking up to the cannon's mouth would have been difficult to that man? Such victories have no record on earth; but, be sure of this, they are widely heard of in heaven, and there is One there who will not forget them.
V. The Group of the Right, or those who have outlived their temptations.
On this point I do not mean to dwell; but I should like at least to mention it, as there is contained in it a great encouragement to some who may be enduring the very hottest fires of temptation. Perhaps your situation is so intolerable that you often say, I cannot stand this much longer; if it last as it is, I must fall.
No, you will not. I bid you take courage; and, as one encouragement, I have to tell you, that you will yet outlive your temptation.
That which is a temptation at one period of life may be no temptation at another. To a child there may be an irresistible temptation in a sweetmeat which a man would take a good deal to touch; and some of the temptations which are now the most painful to you will in time be as completely outlived. God may lift you, by some turn of providence, out of the position where your temptation lies; or the person from whom you chiefly suffer may be removed from your neighbourhood.
The unholy fire of passion which now you must struggle to keep out of your heart may, through the mercy of God who setteth men in families, be burnt away, and replaced by the holy fire of love, burning on the altar of a virtuous home. The laughter and scorn which you have now to bear for your Christian profession will if you only have patience, be changed into respect and veneration; for even the ungodly are forced at last to do honour to a consistent life.
In these and other ways, if you only have patience, you will outlive temptation; though I do not suppose we shall ever in this world be entirely out of its reach, or be beyond the need of these two admonitions: " Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation " and, " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
VI. The Group of the Extreme-right, or those who are assisting others to overcome temptation.
You see, on the right there is an upward progress, as on the left there is a downward one. The first step is to be successfully resisting temptation; a higher one is to have outlived temptation; the highest of all is to be helping others to resist it. I do not say, however, that this must be the chronological order; it is the order of honour. This group of the Extreme-right is the exact opposite of the group of the Extreme-left. Those in the latter group are tempting others to fall; those in this one are encouraging and aiding others to stand fast. No man ought to be satisfied till he is in this noble group.
There are many ways in which we may assist others with their temptations. A big-hearted man will often be doing so even without being aware of it. His very presence, his attractive manhood and his massive character act as an encouragement to younger men, and hold them up. I do not know anything so much to be coveted as in old age to have men coming to say, Your example, your presence and sympathy were like a protecting arm put round my stumbling youth, and helped me over the perilous years. If a few can honestly say this to us in distant years, will it not be better far than Greek and Roman fame?
Many are helping the young against their temptations by providing them with means of spending their leisure innocently and profitably. Our leisure time is the problem. Whilst we are at work, there is not so much fear of us; but it is in the hours of leisure, the hours between work and sleep, that temptation finds men, and they are lost. Therefore one of the noblest tasks of Christian philanthropy is to provide the young with opportunities of spending their leisure profitably.
But by far the best way to help men with their temptations is to bring them to Christ. It may be of some service to a man if in the time of trial I put round him the sympathetic arm of a brother; but it is infinitely better if I can get him to allow Christ to encircle him with His strong arm. This is the effectual defence, and no other can be really depended on.
To-day, I am certain, I have been speaking to your business and your bosoms. This is not a subject up in the air; it is our very life. Let me say a final word about how to deal with temptation.
How are you dealing with your own? There are two ways, which may be called the Method of Resistance and the Method of Counter Attraction. I have seen them illustrated by two legends of the ancient Greek mythology, and with these I shall close.
The one legend is told by Homer of Ulysses, the great traveller of those mythical times. Once in his wanderings he came to the spot, on the southern shore of Italy, where the Sirens lived. These were a kind of mermaids, beautiful in person and especially in voice, but malignant in soul. They used to sing on the shore, as ships were passing by, and with their sweet songs allure the mariners to destruction upon the rocks. But Ulysses was a wise and wily traveller and was aware of the danger; and he took measures to provide for his safety. Assembling his sailors, he explained the situation, and told them they must pull past the fatal spot for their lives; then he stuffed their ears with wax, so that they should not hear the dangerous strain. His own ears were not stuffed; but he made the sailors bind him hand and foot to the mast. In this trim they reached the place. The Sirens saw them, and came out and sang their sweetest. The sailors, hearing nothing on account of the wax in their ears, pulled stubbornly on. Ulysses heard, and was so intoxicated that he would have done anything to reach the shore) but, being bound hand and foot, he could do nothing to influence the direction of the ship. And so they rounded a promontory, and the danger was past.
The other story is about the Argonauts, who were sailing to Pontus in search of the Golden Fleece, and had also to pass the same dangerous spot. But in their ship they had with them Orpheus, the great poet and singer of those mythical ages. He sang so ravishingly, it was said, that lions and tigers came crouching to his feet, and even rocks and trees followed where he went. And every day he poured his enchanting strains into the ears of his fellow-voyagers. At length they arrived at the place of peril, and the Sirens, seeing them, came forth and sang their sweetest. But the Argonauts only laughed at them and passed on. How were they able to do so? It was because the charm of the inferior music had been broken by that which was superior.
These two stories illustrate the two ways of meeting temptation. The one is the method of restraint, when we keep ourselves from sin by main force, as Ulysses saved himself from the charm which was drawing him. Of course this is far better than yielding to temptation; and in many cases it will be the course we must adopt. But the other method is the secret of religion. The attraction of temptation is overcome by a counter attraction. The love of Christ in the heart destroys the love of sin, and the new song of salvation enables us to despise the siren-song of temptation, and pass it by. That man alone is really safe who, as he sails the seas of life, carries on board the Divine Orpheus, and is daily listening to the music of His wisdom.
