Lead me not into temptation

1 Feb 2023 • Articles

Every day that I am in the Area Office, within St Mary’s Church in Uttoxeter, I start work with 2 or 3 minutes in the chancel of the church, looking at the altar and offering my day to God in prayer. And I always finish with the Lord’s Prayer – from which this sentence comes…..”Lead us not into temptation”. This image was on the wrapper round part of a newspaper at New Year and it caught my attention. I wondered what it was doing on an advert for an alcohol-free beer called Lucky Saint in dry January!

Is it OK to have part of the Lord’s Prayer on an alcohol-related advert? Who thinks that Christians in the UK look like the virtuous but tempted nun in the photo? Actually, how many people looking at this advert will even know that it’s a religious image being doctored? Oh, so many questions! To which I’m sure I don’t have the answers, but I did ask them of myself and therein is the challenge.

We are all tempted, maybe not by alcohol, but by a bargain online, or the possibility of a better job, life, house, car, relationship …. the list is endless. Christmas may be packed away by now, but it was full of temptations, buying one more treat, one more present, having one more chocolate, or can or bottle! Jesus knew that we’d be tempted, which is why he taught the disciples of 2000 years ago how to pray about temptation. If you’re not sure, do look it up in the New Testament of the Bible, in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 6, verse 9 onwards. Jesus also knew that there are always consequences to giving in to the temptations, spending too much, eating or drinking too much, and wanting too much. When we are jealous or envious of what other people have, we can become bitter. In the Old Testament, Moses brought the Ten Commandments from God to the people, and he taught us not to “covet”, desire or crave other people’s possessions. So as Christians we are encouraged to pray to God for strength to resist the temptations, to be thankful for what we do have and to be willing to give and to share with others.

I resist some of those temptations by not browsing online too much, giving away the boxes of chocolates and biscuits, and only have alcohol at the weekends. And by asking God our Father to help me to be less envious of others, and more grateful for all that I have got, every day. What works for you, what do you do?

Lent begins on February 22nd this year, and it is the season in the Christian church when we remember that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, before he began his amazing adult ministry of teaching and healing. If you know you are tempted in ways that are damaging to you or others, why not have a go at changing the way you deal with it for Lent? By Easter Day on April 9th you might feel less tempted, and feel better about yourself in some way. Asking God to help you is a great place to start, because you too can be a “Lucky Saint”!

With love

Lesley

Lesley White, Area Coordinator and PA to the Area Rector.