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By Randall Smith
There was a bit of a kerfuffle a few years back over the phrase in the Our Father: "Lead us not into temptation." It was suggested that the phrase be changed to "do not let us fall into temptation," reasoning that the original wording incorrectly implies God pushes people into sin, whereas it is Satan's domain to tempt. It is certainly true that God does not lead people into sin, but I think the complaint misses a grammatical point. It is fine to pray: "Do not let us fall into temptation," but I don't merely want God to "not let me fall": I want Him to lead me away.
Consider this image. You see a beautiful, sensuous woman across the room, provocatively dressed. You could walk towards her and be more deeply tempted by her. Or you could turn and walk away. I think it is time to pray, Lord, lead me not into – lead me out of, lead me away from – temptation. It would be foolish to pray: "Lord, lead me into some serious temptation, so that I can see whether I am able to resist it." Better to just walk away.
I knew a man who participated in group "anger management" sessions. While he listened to the stories of how several people had lost their tempers, he kept saying to himself as each story proceeded through the sequence of events leading up to an explosion: "Just walk away; just walk away." But they hadn't.
The problem is, in some instances, that can be hard. It's not something you would do "naturally" on your own. So a little outside help might be necessary.
There is a humorous scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where the ostensibly pure and noble Sir Galahad finds himself in a castle full of women who are tempting him sexually. At that moment, Sir Lancelot and a group of other knights break in to "save him."
LANCELOT: We were in the nick of time; you were in great peril.
GALAHAD: I don't think I was.
LANCELOT: Yes, you were; you were in terrible peril.
GALAHAD: Look, let me go back in there and face the peril.
LANCELOT: No, it's too perilous.
GALAHAD: Look, I'm a knight; I'm supposed to get as much peril as I can.
LANCELOT: No, we've got to find the Holy Grail. Come on!
GALAHAD: Well, let me have just a little bit of peril?
LANCELOT: No, it's unhealthy.
This is often the way it is with temptation. Even the great St. Augustine says in his youth he prayed: "Lord, give me chastity and continence – but not yet." The Lord's prayer contains the admission that there are certain things I am tempted by, to which one adds the request: "Lord, lead me away from them!" Sometimes, we need some stern, serious help to get moving in the opposite direction from the one we are disposed to follow.
But there is something more. "Lead us not into temptation" comes directly after the prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." One common temptation is to allow others who have offended us to "live rent free in our minds." We say we forgive, but the offense can live on in our hearts and minds.
Sometimes it "lives on" in the form of resentment toward the person who wronged us. But sometimes, if we have in fact forgiven that person, it can still "live on" in the form of fear that such offenses may happen again and again or in the form of fantasies about how one would react and boldly fight off such offenses in the future.
This too is a grave temptation – a temptation not to let the past be past and allow it instead to live on in you. So we pray: Lord, let me forgive the trespasses of others the way you have forgiven mine. And don't let the residual effects of those trespasses live on in me. Something bad happened; there's no denying it. But O Lord, don't let it lead me into temptation to do evil myself to others or to become cold, arrogant, or embittered.
Temptation is just something that comes along with life. We all have desires. What kind of miserable, lifeless life would it be if we had no desire? The problem is we can desire the wrong things or desire good things in the wrong way.
I see a...
There was a bit of a kerfuffle a few years back over the phrase in the Our Father: "Lead us not into temptation." It was suggested that the phrase be changed to "do not let us fall into temptation," reasoning that the original wording incorrectly implies God pushes people into sin, whereas it is Satan's domain to tempt. It is certainly true that God does not lead people into sin, but I think the complaint misses a grammatical point. It is fine to pray: "Do not let us fall into temptation," but I don't merely want God to "not let me fall": I want Him to lead me away.
Consider this image. You see a beautiful, sensuous woman across the room, provocatively dressed. You could walk towards her and be more deeply tempted by her. Or you could turn and walk away. I think it is time to pray, Lord, lead me not into – lead me out of, lead me away from – temptation. It would be foolish to pray: "Lord, lead me into some serious temptation, so that I can see whether I am able to resist it." Better to just walk away.
I knew a man who participated in group "anger management" sessions. While he listened to the stories of how several people had lost their tempers, he kept saying to himself as each story proceeded through the sequence of events leading up to an explosion: "Just walk away; just walk away." But they hadn't.
The problem is, in some instances, that can be hard. It's not something you would do "naturally" on your own. So a little outside help might be necessary.
There is a humorous scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where the ostensibly pure and noble Sir Galahad finds himself in a castle full of women who are tempting him sexually. At that moment, Sir Lancelot and a group of other knights break in to "save him."
LANCELOT: We were in the nick of time; you were in great peril.
GALAHAD: I don't think I was.
LANCELOT: Yes, you were; you were in terrible peril.
GALAHAD: Look, let me go back in there and face the peril.
LANCELOT: No, it's too perilous.
GALAHAD: Look, I'm a knight; I'm supposed to get as much peril as I can.
LANCELOT: No, we've got to find the Holy Grail. Come on!
GALAHAD: Well, let me have just a little bit of peril?
LANCELOT: No, it's unhealthy.
This is often the way it is with temptation. Even the great St. Augustine says in his youth he prayed: "Lord, give me chastity and continence – but not yet." The Lord's prayer contains the admission that there are certain things I am tempted by, to which one adds the request: "Lord, lead me away from them!" Sometimes, we need some stern, serious help to get moving in the opposite direction from the one we are disposed to follow.
But there is something more. "Lead us not into temptation" comes directly after the prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." One common temptation is to allow others who have offended us to "live rent free in our minds." We say we forgive, but the offense can live on in our hearts and minds.
Sometimes it "lives on" in the form of resentment toward the person who wronged us. But sometimes, if we have in fact forgiven that person, it can still "live on" in the form of fear that such offenses may happen again and again or in the form of fantasies about how one would react and boldly fight off such offenses in the future.
This too is a grave temptation – a temptation not to let the past be past and allow it instead to live on in you. So we pray: Lord, let me forgive the trespasses of others the way you have forgiven mine. And don't let the residual effects of those trespasses live on in me. Something bad happened; there's no denying it. But O Lord, don't let it lead me into temptation to do evil myself to others or to become cold, arrogant, or embittered.
Temptation is just something that comes along with life. We all have desires. What kind of miserable, lifeless life would it be if we had no desire? The problem is we can desire the wrong things or desire good things in the wrong way.
I see a...