Temptations & Me
Once, I had a good chat with a guy. One interesting thing that I could not shake off my mind is his sharing with me an interesting analogy of temptations that he read somewhere.
Temptation at the first stage is like a seductive woman who, in its subtleness gives its prey pleasure of senses, and lures him (or her) to sin.
Later temptation mutates into a naggy wife who will nag and nag and nag, creating confusion and restlessness, and from there temptation grabs hold of its prey and plunges him (or her) into sin.
At the very last stage, temptation will come like a battalion of army charging towards its prey in an open field to knock down and to destroy; and we (its preys) are to stand our ground and stop the whole battalion of army from trampling upon us.
In real life experience, there are many situations whereby I should put my foot down and stand firm to defend what I believe is right. However, I have chosen to keep quiet and walk away; and later regretted about it.
There are times whereby I underwent emotional desolation. I should have been patient, prayerful, hopeful and trusting in God. But I have let myself be crippled by my mood (emotional desolation). I reacted impulsively and of course, it only worsened the situation.
Noticing, naming and acknowledging the negative aspects (ravenous wolves) in my life are hard enough. But taming them is even harder. Well, it is a continual process of learning...
[Reflection on Autobiography of St. Ignatius, Para. 19 -20]
Temptation at the first stage is like a seductive woman who, in its subtleness gives its prey pleasure of senses, and lures him (or her) to sin.
Later temptation mutates into a naggy wife who will nag and nag and nag, creating confusion and restlessness, and from there temptation grabs hold of its prey and plunges him (or her) into sin.
At the very last stage, temptation will come like a battalion of army charging towards its prey in an open field to knock down and to destroy; and we (its preys) are to stand our ground and stop the whole battalion of army from trampling upon us.
In real life experience, there are many situations whereby I should put my foot down and stand firm to defend what I believe is right. However, I have chosen to keep quiet and walk away; and later regretted about it.
There are times whereby I underwent emotional desolation. I should have been patient, prayerful, hopeful and trusting in God. But I have let myself be crippled by my mood (emotional desolation). I reacted impulsively and of course, it only worsened the situation.
Noticing, naming and acknowledging the negative aspects (ravenous wolves) in my life are hard enough. But taming them is even harder. Well, it is a continual process of learning...
[Reflection on Autobiography of St. Ignatius, Para. 19 -20]
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