Dragged Away

James 1:13-15 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;  but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

So in this passage, what are we being tempted to do?  Since this passage is all about enduring trials and hardships, in context I believe it’s saying being tempted to walk away from our relationship with Christ, and tempted to follow after riches and wealth. 

Keep reading, and we see that this temptation is not of God, and in fact it’s when we are dragged away and enticed by our own “evil desire.” 

Did you know that desires are like seeds?  If we desire something so much that it becomes something we think about day and night, it’s going to spring up like a weed – or a flower – and govern our garden.

In fact, we are enticed to desire evil things, daily.  The lure of wealth and riches is huge – because we see that it brings happiness and fun.  The enticement of satisfying our cravings is tempting – because we are hurting and we want a quick “high” to fix our pain.

These verses contain a strong warning to check our desires.  If our desires, when birthed (or sprouted), show up as weeds that we constantly have to pull or fight so that we’re not overtaken, we need to ask God to forgive us.  We then need to plant and nurture desires that drop like seeds and grow good things like fruit, things that satisfy and nurture.

How does your garden grow?