16 Nov The Anatomy of Temptation

The following is a journal entry that I wrote on January 3rd, 2020. I journal in an app called “Day One” which I highly recommend. This app allows me to use tags. I have a tag that I started over a year ago called “#TheRecord” in which I review the game tape on my bouts with temptation. I hope this personal piece is helpful to someone.

#TheRecord

I know how to win… it is clear. Even though I don’t win every time, I know what it takes to win and the more I practice the elements of winning the better I will become at it. And every step of the game plan is scriptural. God, last night I made decisions that set me up to have You win the game for me. And then it was no surprise that I won. I’ll list thoughts and organize them later.

1. Recognize the trigger.
2. Extend the invite to God to be involved in the process as close to the trigger as possible.
3. Stay engaged through the rest of the cycle.  

The Anatomy of Temptation

Temptation is structured like a wave or a bell curve. There’s “The Stasis”, the time before temptation starts. “The Trigger”, the initial impulse that starts the temptation cycle. “The Escalation” or the time where temptation builds to “The Peak”, which is the intense, albeit brief, period of time where the emotional energy behind the temptation is the strongest. This is when you are most susceptible to give in . Then there is “The Slide” where temptation loses its emotional energy. Lastly, and of supreme importance, is “The Aftershock” which is another replay of this cycle coming close in time to the initial cycle. This replay can be varied in its level of intensity but occurs as a ripple effect relatively soon after the initial cycle. I’ll put this as an asterisk next to the acronym “S.T.E.P.S.*” on account of the fact that it doesn’t always occur but is always something to be on guard against.

An important note here is that all of these phases occur regardless of whether you resist the temptation or give in. “The Aftershock” also may or may not occur regardless of your decision to give into temptation or not.

So you aren’t tempted, then there is a trigger. Once that trigger happens the temptation begins to escalate quickly towards this peak period of time where the emotional energy of the temptation is most intense. This period of time never lasts that long but often seems to be a longer period than it is due to its intensity. It is in this time that you give in or resist. Once this period ends, the intensity of the temptation drops off precipitously back to a place of stasis. Then, there is a window of time after this cycle ends that the cycle can pop back up. Here it runs it’s course even more quickly to try to catch you with your guard down.

That’s really it. 

Every temptation.

Every one that you or I have ever faced boils down to that.

So how do we leverage this knowledge to our benefit?

…and what do we need to practice?

I’ll use the analogy of a game because I find its imagery to be helpful.

Practicing presence helps awareness.

You have to be able to recognize that the game is happening as early as possible and not get distracted from the fact that the temptation is in front of you. This means being alert and aware enough to recognize a shift in “The Stasis” and the arrival of “The Trigger”.

Extend The Invite.

Invite God into the game early as you recognize the reality of the temptation in front of you. The best thing is if you can be aware enough to foresee the change in “The Stasis” before it occurs and extend the invite to God then. The idea here is to invite God into the cycle as early as you possibly can.

This “inviting God in” business isn’t rhetoric. This is being as real as it gets with God. It means not just telling God that You invite him into the moment, which is very important, but also being completely honest, even graphic, about the nature of your temptation. Air it all out… God can handle it. Laying the whole thing in front of Him thoroughly and in honesty is the only way to truly invite Him into it.

This part is not about dwelling on the temptation. It’s about getting it out of your head so that you can replace these thoughts with more productive ones. Talking with God in these moments has proven to be extremely helpful to me in this thought replacement practice. A really cool byproduct of extending the invite this way is that, as with any relationship, this level of candor builds intimacy with God. 

Remain mindful.

Once you invite God in this way you have what you need to beat any temptation.

A key nuance here is to stay present throughout the cycle and through the possible occurrence of an aftershock. Once you invite God into the game early in the cycle, be mindful of “The Escalation”. Remind yourself that although “The Peak” may be intense, God can help you endure this brief period.  My friend Ed describes this peak period as five minutes. He says, “Wait five minutes for the miracle”. It isn’t uncommon for this peak period to be around this length in duration.

The point here is that it won’t last long so trust that God can help you endure it. A plus here is that the more you practice inviting God into the game and the earlier in the cycle you extend the invite, the more manageable “The Peak” becomes. Then during “The Slide” practice expressing gratitude to God for making it through “The Peak”. Don’t let your guard down during “The Slide”. Instead, use this time to stay locked in to the possibility of “The Aftershock”. Bring this to God as well. Again be honest. This isn’t the time for pleasantries or flowery language. Be real. Be open. Be you. Bring it all to God. 

Post-game every time.

Take time after every temptation cycle to reflect with God on how the game went. You gotta do this after every temptation cycle, win or lose. Now that you have the anatomy of temptation to which you can refer, you can use this to analyze your performance during each phase of the game.

If you lost, examine where you could have made a different decision. If you won, figure out what decisions aided in your win. Winning teams embrace the process of making adjustments along the way and refine their game plan. In the words of comedian/actor Chris Rock, “The greats make adjustments at half time. The wack keep playing the way they were playing.”

Maybe you tend to invite God in too late during “The Escalation” phase. Take note of that and ask God to give you the wisdom relative to how you can make some adjustments. Maybe you are good at staying mindful through “The Slide” period which keeps aftershocks at bay. Celebrate that and ask God to help you continue to grow in that strength.

An important note here is that you must guard this reflection time against the presence of shame. Shame short circuits this process more than anything else. When you lose, take it seriously but don’t allow shame to creep in. Remember that mistakes are a part of practice. This post-game practice is also a great place to invite the accountability of a trusted friend. This person should be someone who will encourage you and help you guard against shame.

What should you do during “The Stasis”?  A few important practices come to mind. 

Engage in meditative practices.

Prayer is a form of this. Also mindfulness meditations are like going to the gym for building the muscle of focus. Guided meditations are dope. This one is a part of my regular rhythm, is scripture-based, and my favorite price, FREE! Meditative practices will help give you the skills needed to stay engaged during the cycle of temptation. 

Practice gratitude daily.

This practice helps limit the part of temptation that draws upon discontentment. To live in gratitude is to embrace contentment with the blessings the God has given you. This practice also gives you the skills to plug gratitude into “The Slide” portion of the temptation anatomy.

This is a process. Process is about direction, not perfection. You have to practice this stuff to become proficient in it. Be patient. Exercise discipline in this practice. Do your best and present your best to God. Remember that you aren’t going through this process alone. God is even more invested than you are in your growth in proficiency around dealing with temptation. He is infinitely resourced to provide you with what you need to grow in this. Don’t allow a hint of shame when you fail. I did say “when”. It’s inevitable. Growth in proficiency is also inevitable if you stay patient with the process.  

Is any of this particularly helpful to you? Do you have any advice for dealing with temptation?

Drop me a line and let’s have a conversation about it.

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