Don't Open the Door to Temptation

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 11:1 (NKJV)

Spring had come and David's army went out to battle the Ammonites, except for David, who stayed behind and neglected his responsibility, leading to multiple sins. His first sin was when he went to his rooftop and lusted after Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. He went deeper into sin by having her brought over and sleeping with her. When he found out that she was pregnant, he committed his next sin by calling Uriah from the frontlines to update him on the war, having Uriah go home for the night to sleep with his wife to cover up the sin. When Uriah refused to sleep with his wife because his comrades were fighting on the battlefront, David sent him back and put Uriah in the fieriest fighting so that he would be killed. After Uriah was killed, David took Bathsheba as his wife to cover his sin. Because David neglected his responsibility, he opened up the door to temptation and committed five sins: Lust; Adultery; Deception; Murder; and stealing.

There is a saying in the recovery world: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Like David, we open the door to temptation and fall into sin, getting caught up in our addictions. We overcome our addictions temporarily, but then put ourselves in the same situation, opening the door for additional temptation and sin. Matthew 12:43-45 says, “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” You cannot beat your addiction unless you do away with your old habits and replace them with habits that encourage your recovery. The first and most important habit is putting Jesus first in your life.

Choose to close the door to temptation and open the door to a new life, free from your addiction. Join a faith-based recovery program like Celebrate Recovery and give your hurts, habits, and hangup's to Jesus. Start each morning by giving your day to Jesus, trusting Him to guide your day. Replace the habits that you know will lead to temptation with new habits that will lead to spiritual growth. Have a list of accountability partners that you can call when you feel weak, who will deliver you from your temptation. It takes work to beat your addiction, so choose to be the responsible person and close the door to temptation.