Someone wrote: “The Devil tempts men most when they have money. He tempts women most when they don’t have money. For us to keep the Devil away, my brothers, if you get money give it to your wife so that while you walk without money, she walks with money and the Devil is kept away!”
Interesting, but keeping the Devil’s temptation away is not quite that simple. Besides money, Satan also entices through power, pleasure, ambition, applause, flattery, fantasy, needs, and just about any desire that appeals to our carnal hearts and pride. The reason we yield to temptation is because deep within our hearts is a sinful desire that lies dormant, and awaits activation by some external stimulus or agent. A fall may occur when “evil within” is perfectly timed or synchronized with a tempting “evil without.”
The Bible says: “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (James 1:14, 15). Temptation then comes from at least two sources: from without and from within: “Temptation is enticement to sin, and this does not proceed from God, but from Satan and from the evil of our own hearts” (E.G. White).
We’re our own temptation! To keep the Devil away requires a Power that can defeat Satan and which can also cleanse the heart from its inherent selfish desires. We read: “The Son of God came into the world to destroy the works of the devil…I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you… Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (1 John 3:8; Ezekiel 36:26; James 4:7; cf. Mark 7:21-23; Ezekiel 18:30-32).—Samuel Koranteng-Pipim.
© Samuel Koranteng-Pipim: Permission is granted to share thought nuggets from this website provided they are reproduced in full and are for non-commercial use only. Pertinent quotes can also be excerpted from the nuggets and shared with others. Users of both nuggets and/or quotes must acknowledge Samuel Koranteng-Pipim as the author and give the appropriate EAGLESonline link as the source.
SAMUEL KORANTENG-PIPIM,PH.D. , is a US-based Ghanaian author, inspirational speaker, leadership trainer, and an advocate for youth empowerment. He was trained in engineering and systematic theology, and has authored more than twenty books. They include his bestselling works Hope Through the Dark, Six More Chances, Healed Wounds but Ugly Scars, and Patience in the Midst of Trials and Afflictions. Dr. Pipim currently directs two Centers for Leadership Development known as EAGLES (Empowerment & Advisory Group for Leadership, Excellence, & Service) and ANANSE (African Network & Advisory for Needed Services & Excellence). www.EAGLESonline.org. He also serves as a special consultant on Bible projects for Remnant Publications. 