Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
To Overcome Temptations, Embrace Humility And Prayer

To Overcome Temptations, Embrace Humility And Prayer

Last updated on: February 23, 2024 at 3:38 am by Henry Karlson

0 Comments

To Overcome Temptations, Embrace Humility And Prayer 2024-02-23T03:38:15-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

St. Moses the Black: Photograph of an icon owned by and taken by Henry Karlson.

Spiritual masters warn us that we will likely encounter all kinds of temptations throughout our temporal existence. We should not be surprised by them. We should not fall into despair when we experience them. We should know that they are trials which help build us up, and in this fashion, see them as a sign of hope, a sign that we have been given the opportunity to grow and become better. We do not have to give into temptation (and, if we are talking about an addiction, instead of mere temptation, we can slowly fight against it, and until we overcome it, our culpability is limited, if at all existent, when we fail to resist it). We should also realize, through humility, that our temptation reveals something about ourselves and our personal weaknesses and challenges.

If we find we cannot overcome our temptations all by ourselves, we should not give up hope. Instead, we should see that we have been given the opportunity to accept help from others, including and especially God. We all have various wants and desires, and our temptations work on them and use them to try to get us to go astray. If we rely only upon ourselves, if we lean on ourselves, we will not have the resources others can give us to help us see beyond our desires, and therefore, our temptation will be able to work on them and use them to lead us astray.

All our desires are based upon some good which attracts us and makes us want it; the problem is, we can desire them in the wrong fashion, engaging all kinds of shortcuts to attain them, and this is what temptations suggests to us. They would have us seek immediate gratification in the good we perceive instead of seeking after and attaining the greater good; sadly, because that good is cut off from the greater good, what we receive is only temporary, and the satisfaction it gives us does not last. This why we can be tempted, because we grasp after and perceive some good in what we wish to attain, but on the other hand, this is why, if we give in to temptation, we find no lasting joy. When the joy is gone, we will then find ourselves at the crossroads, where can either continue to do what temptation suggests, finding ourselves constantly repeating the mistakes of the past, and never attaining any true, lasting peace, or we can take the time to resist temptation and instead embrace the greater good.

Humility helps us accept the fact that we often seek after and grasp after some good in the wrong fashion, that we can be and often are mistaken. It will have us realize that we are never truly independent, that, if we are not dependent upon God and God’s grace, we are dependent upon the lesser good which we seek after and attain. The lesser good will not satisfy us for long, but what God offers can and will satisfy us without end. And without this recognition, we will not be able to purify our will, for it is only by recognizing this can we begin to overcome the way temptation engages our desires and see that we need to embrace those desires properly by seeking after the greater good from which the lesser good emerges. St. Moses the Black, therefore, when asked what we should do when we are tempted, gave a rather typical ascetical answer, one which is legitimate, though one which needs to be adapted if it is to be useful to those who are not ascetics:

The old man was asked, ‘What should a man do in all the temptations and evil thoughts that come upon him?’ The old man said to him, ‘He should weep and implore the goodness of God to come to his aid, and he will obtain peace if he prays with discernment. For it is written, “With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can man do to me?”’ (Ps. 118.6).[1]

What, exactly, are evil thoughts? Evil is the absence of some good; ontologically, evil is nothing, while practically, it is a corruption of some good. Evil thoughts, therefore, come to us, and tempt us, because there is something good which is being grasped, but grasped for in the wrong way, in a way which hurts ourselves (and others), and so leads to our own corruption if we attach ourselves to them. Pleasure, itself, is a good, but it is not the ultimate good; seeking after pleasure in and of itself does end up having us seek after some good, but we do so in such a fashion we turn pleasure into our ultimate end, making all things give way to what gives us pleasure. Sadly, as we seek pleasure in this fashion, disconnecting it from the greater good, and the holistic relationship all goods must have in connection with each other, the pleasure we receive will be temporary, offering us only brief satisfaction, and then, when it is done, we will find ourselves in a worse state than before we attained it, one filled with angst if not actual suffering. Until we see beyond the claims of hedonism, we will then seek after such pleasure once again, finding, however, what we attain will satisfy even less, until, at last, we form a habit which leaves gives us little to no true satisfaction. That is, we will have become addicted to pleasure, suffering withdrawal symptoms when its presence is not felt. We can see this in alcohol addiction, where those who are alcoholics find themselves needing more and more alcohol to satisfy their desires, finding what they experience is less and less satisfying, all the while, the good they have found in drinking will be overturned by the good which they have ignored, like the good of their own body, so that they will find themselves physical harmed by the alcohol they drink, a harm which could ultimately lead to an early death if they do not stop drinking.

What is seen in alcohol addiction, or any other, similar forms of addiction, is true with sin in general: it leaves us addicted to it, desiring the pleasure it gives us, while leaving us in a situation where we need to sin more and more to attain less and less of the pleasure it offers. When we stop sinning, we will find the habits we formed will be difficult to overcome, leaving us in a state similar to that associated with withdrawal symptoms. Evil thoughts, therefore, are those which misdirect us, causing us to seek after some limited good, hiding from us what we should be doing, until at last, we find ourselves addicted to some vice, making it difficult for us to overcome it. When we find ourselves in such a situation, the first thing we need to do is acknowledge the problem, which is where humility comes into play. Then, we need to pray, for by prayer, we can come into the presence of God and open ourselves to God’s help, help which we need if we are to overcome all the evil sin has done to us and the way it has corrupted our will. The more we implore God for help, the more we will open ourselves to it, allowing us, therefore, to slowly have the grace we need to overcome even the worst sinful habits. Similarly, as we do so, we start focusing ourselves on God, and the greater good which God will have us follow, thereby giving us something to use as a counter to the bad thoughts which go through our minds.

Why, then, should we weep? Because we should be sorry for what we have done when we have been led us astray, but also, because we should have tears of joy as we realize the transformation which is taking place in us, as we open ourselves to the greater good and the way it can and will make us better. We need a change of heart, and often, we find, when we have one, we will feel sorry for what we have previously done, and then, when we have true sorrow. God will come to comfort us, helping to end our sorrow and leave us with peace and joy. God certainly offers us love and grace, with or without such pleading, and therefore, without such tears; it is only how we respond to God that determines if we will truly let them work in us and transform us from within. If we do so, we will find the peace and joy which we desire.

[1] The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. trans. Benedicta Ward (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1984), 142 [Instructions of Abba Moses #6].

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

General Christian

Saint Moses the Black

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Temptation

Previous Post

February 21, 2024

Sin, Mercy, Grace, And Reparations

Next Post

February 25, 2024 Jesus Offers Himself As A Sacrifice Of Love

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Gosh, did that hit the spot. I have been having great anxiety lately. And I ..."

Mark Wilson

Rejecting Doom: Christian Hope And Human ..."

"Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Thank you for your very, very powerful and very, very insightful analysis of the relationship ..."

alwayspuzzled

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Given the amount of lethal malevolence that has prevailed in human history for the past ..."

alwayspuzzled

We Must Value Our Health

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz