By Ann Weaver.
Imagine this: you’ve just cleaned your desk. Where there used to be clutter, wrappers, and trash is now a clean space. It’s finally possible to sit down and feel content in your workspace, rather than stressed and annoyed.
But the next day, you eat a granola bar and you have to get out the paper clips. You throw away the wrapper and put away the paper clips, because you don’t want to ruin your clean desk. But what about the next day or the next week?
If you’re like me, the desk will eventually get cluttered again. Things you’d never intended on leaving there will appear on the desk and remain. Before long, it’s messy once again.
You know what else is like this? The gradual fade into sin. You decide to stay far from a temptation, and you do well for a little while. Then it comes creeping back. Before you know it, you’re back to your sinful habits, and you become discouraged and realize you have to start over again.
Psalm 1 illustrates this slow fade for us. No one dumps piles of trash on their desk one day, and rarely do people walk straight into an outrageous sin. Instead, we walk into sin gradually. First, we walk with the wicked and listen to their counsel, persuasion, and advice. Then we stand still, directly in the way of sinners. Finally, we sit in the sinner’s own seat, mocking God and His ways.
Notice: we don’t sit down right away–it takes walking and then standing first before fully yielding to the paths of sinners. However, once we have begun to walk with the wicked, it grows increasingly easy to continue in wrongdoing. In fact, it becomes normal. Using our desk example, it takes a conscious decision to leave the first piece of clutter on the desk. But after a few things are there, it becomes easier to leave things, until you end up doing it without thinking.
As Romans 8:13 tells us, “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Notice the present tense verb “putting.” It shows us that we do not put temptation and sinfulness to death only once–it’s an ongoing process.
So how do we stay far away from sin? How can we avoid temptation? What can we do if we find ourselves already in the midst of sin, but trying to get out of it? In this article, I will list eight ways for you to avoid sin and temptation.
How to avoid temptation
1: Don’t put yourself in the way of temptation.
Psalm 1 begins with the man walking in the counsel of the wicked. This implies that he had been around them beforehand. He wouldn’t be listening to their counsel if he hadn’t decided to listen to them first.
In the same way, we should not even get close to places where we know sin abounds. This might be a literal place or a mindset, idea, or online platform. It sounds simple, but it’s something many of us don’t think about. After all, if a woman has a problem with gluttony, she shouldn’t go to a bakery. It would set her up for failure.
2: Learn your particular temptations.
Everyone has sins they struggle with more than others. For some, they may be outward actions, such as gluttony, rebellion, or lying. For others, they may be inner struggles, like failure to trust God, lust, or greediness. No matter which ours is, learning our own weaknesses better can help us avoid sin by enabling us to remain especially vigilant in guarding against those sins.
3: Cut off your thoughts immediately as soon as you consider a temptation.
We can’t stop thoughts from entering our heads, but we do have control over whether we continue to think on those thoughts. When we dwell on wrongful things, that is when it becomes a sin.
For example, you might see a pile of money that your sibling has not counted and wish you had some of it. The thought might even go through your head that you need the money more than they do. All this can happen before you can consciously prevent yourself from those thoughts. But as soon as that thought registers in your head, cut it off. Turn your thoughts away from that path and do not dwell on them again. Because if you allow yourself to consider those thoughts any more than necessary, they will gradually lead you down wrong roads.
4: Remember that God will help you escape temptation.
Though we should pray for the Lord’s help to avoid sin, we shouldn’t try to use prayer as some kind of magic wand. After all, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with temptation will provide the way of escape also, so you will be able to endure it.” It is inevitable that we will face temptation, and we cannot avoid it.
We also cannot expect prayer to magically keep us from sinning. Yes, we are told in Matthew 26:41 to “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation…”. But we cannot ask God to keep us from temptation while simultaneously walking directly towards it. We must resist the temptations and not succumb. If we choose to stay where we should not be, we must understand the natural consequences of that action.
How to fight temptation
1: Starve your sin.
Once you’ve realized that you’re doing wrong in a certain area, do not allow yourself to return or even look back at the place you were. Doing so only feeds the sin in your heart. Do not even read or listen to things about the subject–stay away from it entirely. A man with an alcohol addiction shouldn’t go to a bar, of course. But he may also want to avoid all restaurants that serve strong drink, especially when he’s first trying to avoid his addiction. He may not even want to read books that mention drinking, as the mention may stir the desire for alcohol once again.
Though this can seem drastic, making sure to starve sin will give a person absolutely no opportunity to stray back into the way of temptation.
2: Ask for accountability–and then be ready for it.
Ask others to keep you accountable. When you feel as if you’re close to temptation or sin, let them know. Ask them to pray for you and offer advice. Perhaps you could also ask them to inquire how you are at random times, keeping you accountable even when you’re not expecting it.
But be sure to prepare yourself for their questions! Don’t get angry if they ask you at “inconvenient” times–that may be an indication that you are falling into sin and don’t want anyone to know. Examine your heart if you’re feeling that way. Even when accountability is annoying, remember these people are there for the right purpose.
3: Memorize verses that will counteract temptation.
In Ephesians 6:15, we’re told about “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” When we’re experiencing temptation, we should use the Sword as a way to counteract “…the flaming arrows of the evil one” (v. 16). Even Jesus counteracted Satan’s temptations with Scripture.
When you’re struggling with a particular sin, look up verses that pertain to that temptation or find verses that talk about God’s faithfulness and strength. You can also memorize these verses, so that you have them in your mind in the moment of your difficulty. Knowing these can help you counteract the devil’s darts and fling them away from you.
4: Try replacing some temptations with other things.
When some people quit smoking, they suck on hard candy or chew gum when they get the urge to smoke. This can both stave off that desire and give them something non-harmful to do with the time and energy they would spend with a cigarette.
In the same way, we can find ways to substitute wrongful things with other occupations. For example, doing away with laziness by coming up with specific projects, conquering the temptation of wasting time by exercising, or replacing thoughts of depression by praising the Lord. After all, if you leave the time or thought process open and have nothing to replace it with, we cannot be shocked when we fall back into that sin again.
What to do after you’ve sinned
1: Turn around immediately.
As soon as you’ve realized your sinful behavior, immediately stop it. That sounds easier than it is, but you cannot stay in your sin and expect something to change. It will only grow worse. You must stop your wrongdoing and immediately begin recovering from it.
2: Ask for forgiveness.
Ask God humbly for forgiveness. Then ask others as well. If your sin has affected them, it’s important to apologize for your wrongdoing, whether it’s a sinful attitude or a willful action.
3: Don’t wallow in it forever.
It’s important that we feel sorrow for our sin, but we don’t need to moan about it forever. We also don’t have to broadcast to everyone how we have turned from temptation–in the end, it’s between ourselves and the Lord. If we have prayed for forgiveness and restoration, the Lord will show us His mercy. We don’t have to continually dwell on the past.
4: Stay vigilant.
After you have fallen into sin, been forgiven, and put the past behind you, make sure to stay vigilant for future temptation. Not only should you watch out for that particular sin, but you should also remain careful in other ways in your life. Satan loves to sneak up at your rear and deal you a blow on another end when you aren’t paying attention. Keep watching, keep praying, and keep trusting God.
As we grow in our Christian lives, let’s remember to stay away from temptation. We should pray for God’s help, but we cannot expect it to be a magic wand that keeps us from sinning even when we willfully remain in the way of temptation. If we find ourselves in the midst of sinful thoughts and behavior, we must turn around immediately and ask forgiveness of the Lord, and stay vigilant against any possible future temptations.
“’Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” (James 1:12-15)
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