In a chilling passage in Genesis, God warns Cain of the dangers of sin: “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Gen 4:7).
Is sin like a hungry wolf, ready to pounce? If so, how do we keep the door closed? More importantly, why does our good Father in heaven permit such a scenario? Does He desire to see us struggle and be tempted?
These and other difficult questions about temptation are not so easy to answer. Nonetheless, when we study Scripture, the lives of the saints, and what our faith teaches, a clearer understanding emerges. God’s wisdom and goodness rule over every aspect of our lives in this world, including the experience of temptation. If He permits the struggle, love is the reason.
1. What is a temptation?
The word ‘temptation’ derives from the Latin verb, tentare, which means "to test."
What is the purpose of a test? We all remember the experience from school where teachers tested us to evaluate our level of comprehension. Chefs perform “taste tests”, doctors test their patients, civil engineers test load-bearing beams, and manufacturers test their products before sending them to the shelves. Tests are part of our everyday lives.
In like manner, God permits temptation in our lives for two reasons. First, so that we may discover what is happening within us: are we wise or foolish, strong or weak, gold or dross? Temptations reveal who we are to ourselves.
Second, a test provides an evaluation on God’s part. Do we choose patience over anger, purity over impurity, humility over pride, generosity over selfishness? Our choices have consequences. By passing tests now, we merit an increase of grace and are rewarded at the Last Judgment.
For instance, our neighbor annoys us in some way. God permits such occasions as a test. Will our reaction be merciful or merciless? Whereas the angels were tested once and their destiny was sealed for eternity, God tests human beings throughout their lifetime. We pass the Final Exam by triumphing in small daily tests. Our wise choices now gain us virtue in this life and beatitude in the life to come.
2. Does God cause or permit temptation?
In the Bible, God tested many holy persons to prove their virtue, prepare them for a mission, or to bring them to a higher degree of holiness. These are not enticements to sin but a type of examination. Among those tested were Abraham, the Egyptian Joseph, Job, Moses, King David, John the Baptist, St. Joseph, and the Blessed Virgin. These temptations are called temptations of probation. As Scripture says: “God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them” (Wis 3:6).
Temptations of solicitation, on the contrary, come from the devil, the world, or our fallen human nature. These are enticements toward sin. While God permits them as a test of virtue, He never induces anyone to sin. St. James explains: “Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (Jas 1:13). It is also reassuring to know that God does not test souls beyond their strength but gives the necessary grace to triumph (cf. 1 Cor 10:13).
3. When does temptation become sin?
St. Francis de Sales teaches: “If we should undergo the temptation to every sin whatsoever during our whole life, that would not damage us in the sight of God's Majesty, provided we took no pleasure in it, and did not consent to it” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part IV, ch. 3).
In other words, a thousand temptations do not constitute a single sin, so long as we refuse to be detained in them. God is certainly patient as we struggle with first movements, but He wants us to fight. By resisting, we give a sure proof of love.
It is important to note that trouble grows if we are complacent during temptation. On this point, the Benedictine mystic Fr. Paul Luyckx says: “When a demon suggests a bad thought, it is easy to resist the temptation; but if one does not immediately repel it, a second demon comes at once to help the first. Afterwards, in proportion as resistance is delayed, still other demons come to combine their efforts, and when one has to fight against seven devils all at once, it is very difficult to not succumb.”
4. What are the stages of temptation?
St. Francis de Sales describes three stages of temptation (IDL Part IV, Ch 3):
The Proposal: The first stage is the presentation of an apparent good.
Delectation: This is the involuntary experience of pleasure stemming from the proposal.
Resist or consent: Sin occurs only when there is full consent of the will.
5. What are the causes of temptation?
The World: The influence of mass media (internet, advertising, entertainment), immodest clothing, and the bad example of others
The Flesh: The effects of original sin (darkened intellect, weakened will, and disordered passions); past sins and bad habits; bodily appetites and spiritual sloth
The Devil: Satan and demons, who seek to entice, discourage, and deceive us
6. Why Does God permit temptations?
For most of us, temptation is a nuisance. The saints, on the other hand, extol its importance in our spiritual formation and ultimate salvation. For example, St. Augustine teaches: "Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be without temptation; for our progress is made through temptation, and no one knows himself except when tested" (Exposition on Psalm 60/61). St. Anthony the Great goes so far to say, “Whoever has not experienced temptation cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Take away temptations and no one would be saved.”
The experience of temptation causes one who loves God to cling to Him, as a little child who is frightened. Pride makes us strong in our own eyes, whereas humility acknowledges our littleness. Temptations reveal our nature's weakness and so are beneficial for gaining self-knowledge.
Temptations also prove our love for God as we choose Him as our greatest good. Soldiers show their patriotism on the battlefield, not in the barracks. A husband's undivided heart reveals true love for his wife. Hence, though temptations are painful, resistance reveals genuine love and help us to grow interiorly.
Temptations also atone for past sins. The refusal to consent during temptation may be likened to a furnace—the fire cleanses away the dross of previous mistakes. Temptations may likewise be stepping-stones to merit and glory. The very means that the devil tries to trip us up may become a stairway to everlasting glory.
7. “I am pestered by bad thoughts—what do I do?”
First of all, remain calm and let us see what the saints recommend.
“Whensoever you urgently desire to be delivered from any evil or to attain some good thing,” says St. Francis de Sales, “strive above all else to keep a calm, restful spirit” (IDL Part IV, Ch 11). Agitation makes matters worse.
The next step is to gently change the subject. As Bl. Fulton Sheen teaches: “How do we get rid of evil? By the expulsive power of a new affection. We do not drive out evil; rather, we crowd it out.” This means cultivating a higher love to displace a lesser love.
To this end, innumerable saints recommend meditation on the Passion of Jesus. For example, St. Alphonsus Liguori says: "The remembrance of the Passion of Jesus Christ is a most powerful remedy against all the temptations of hell... for how can a soul that beholds a God dying out of love for it consent to offend Him?" Preparation for Death (Consideration XV)
Additional helps are:
Devotion to Our Lady, the angels, and saints
Vigilance: Our Lord says, "Keep watch" (i.e., pay attention, keep alert).
Good spiritual reading, especially Scripture, because temptation always involves a lie.
Avoiding idleness and keeping busy with a project
Revealing struggles to a trusted spiritual guide
Frequent prayer, the sacraments, and sacramentals like holy water
Understanding positive motives for resisting temptation
8. Does temptation always involve an apparent good?
Yes, human nature desires what is good, even it be only an apparent good. If the mind does not perceive some benefit, pleasure, relief, or satisfaction from an act, object, or outcome, then temptation will be ineffective.
Eve was tempted in the Garden of Eden because the fruit appeared to be “good as food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise” (cf Gen 3:6). She accepted a lie which is the essence of every temptation toward sin.
What about sins that are extremely violent or cruel? How can such crimes be seen as an apparent good? Because the person committing them usually desires a sense of power, relief from perceived weakness, or a way to cope with emotional pain.
What about the painful temptation of distrusting God’s goodness— “How can He love me?” On the surface, there is no apparent no good here, only pain. Nonetheless, such a temptation involves choosing the apparent good of one’s own judgment rather than obedience to the truth manifested through Jesus Christ: “The Father Himself loves you” (Jn 16:27).
9. What saints faced difficult temptations?
St. Pio of Pietrelcina: This holy Capuchin experienced unusually intense and persistent temptations throughout his entire life. The demons portrayed impure images in front of him and continually tried to make him despair through a prolonged experience of abandonment. They also physically beat him to bring about discouragement.
St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi: While this holy Carmelite nun attained to a high degree of divine union, God put her in "the lion's den" for five years to bring her yet higher. During this period, she experienced grievous temptations toward impurity, pride, gluttony, infidelity, and blasphemy. She ultimately succeeded by God's grace.
St. Vincent de Paul: This holy saint had a friend who was immersed in doubts regarding the Faith. St. Vincent offered himself as a victim so that the friend could be delivered. A spirit of doubt, especially regarding the Trinity and the Eucharist, consequently assailed St. Vincent whereas his friend was instantly relieved. St. Vincent placed the Creed over his heart and, when besieged by temptation, would rest his hand there. After four years, he vowed perpetual service to the poor if God would release him and his prayer was accepted.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux: As a child and young adult, this wonderful Carmelite nun found intense joy at the thought of heaven. When she was 22 years old, she made an offering of herself to Merciful Love, where requested from God: "Consume your holocaust with the fire of Your Divine Love." Ten months later, she entered the unsuspected “fire” of doubting heaven’s existence. It was an intense trial of faith, as she explained to a fellow nun: “Everything has disappeared on me, and I am left with love alone." She wrote the Creed in her blood and placed it on her heart. This trial lasted about 18 months until her ecstatic death at age 24.
10. Why is placing oneself in the occasion of sin, a sin in itself?
To place oneself in the occasion of sin means to associate with persons, places, or activities that are likely to make one fall. This violates the obligation of spiritual self-preservation. Just as walking on thin ice is imprudent because it endangers our physical life, so to knowingly enter the occasion of sin may imperil the life of our soul. Scripture teaches: “Whoever loves danger will perish by it” (Sir. 3:26); also, "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Finally, to enter an occasion of sin often involves presumption, which is a form of pride. To expect divine help while unnecessarily exposing oneself to danger is like a person who leaps off a cliff with only an umbrella.
Temptation as a Spiritual Harvest
We read in our Carmelite Rule: “Man’s life on earth is a time of struggle (cf Job 7:1).” We know the daily experience: personality clashes, passions, various concerns and innumerable choices. Yes, even our ability to choose can be a hard struggle. By wisely exercising the gift of free-will in daily tests, virtue grows and we merit eternal bliss.
We must always believe that God wants what is best for us and this includes the experience of temptation. It is a golden opportunity to grow very rich as St. John Vianney notes: “Temptations are the times of spiritual harvest wherein we store up treasures for Heaven.”
