Avoiding the Temptations of the Heart
13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)
Moving to our next section, from verses 13 to 18, James focuses on internal trials and temptations and how to overcome them. James addresses the internal temptation that when experiencing trials, it may seem to the individual that the natural avenue to go down is to blame God for such circumstances, being that He is in control of everything, as seen in verse 13: “No one undergoing a trial should say, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ since God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone.” Yet, within verse 13, James shows how this fallacy of “God is tempting me,” is not true with two points.
First, God cannot be tempted by evil. God is perfect and has no weaknesses or flaws, so temptation is impossible to be done to Him who is whole and complete and in need of nothing. God is also holy, meaning that evil or sin is repulsive to God. Therefore, God cannot be drawn to something that He is destroying.
Second, God does not tempt people. God does give trials to people to grow, which can lead to people disobeying or sinning due to their choice. We can see this in the interaction between God and Abraham in Genesis 22, when God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his only son. This situation was a test to see if Abraham trusted God and His promise. Within the trial, Abraham could have disobeyed the Lord which would have led to sin, but overall, the interaction did not have God tempting Abraham in any capacity to sin. Because He is holy, He would never tempt His creation to commit that which He hates.
If God is not responsible for the temptation to do evil, then what is? James shows in verses 14 and 15 that it is because of the condition of the heart that may lead to sin if the person chooses to give into the temptation: “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”
With verse 14, commentator Max Anders points out that the language used here is one of fishing. Just as how fish are lured to the hook by the bait, so too are people lured to sin by the contents and desires of the heart, and the people might choose to give into that temptation. Anders writes: The Bible will not let us blame heredity, an evil environment, or wicked companions for sin. The blame rests squarely on the individual, on you and me.”
Closing this section, verse 15 shows the consequences of giving into the temptation, death. The language used here is that of childbirth. Giving into one’s temptations to do evil is the point of conception, which will lead to a child being born named sin, and when sin is fully grown, leads to death. To clarify, being tempted is not already sin on the receiver. Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39, but he did not sin by acting upon the temptation, and instead, fled, keeping himself pure and not succumbing to temptation to commit the sins of adultery and lust.
It is when we give into the temptations to do evil is when we sin. It is a choice. God does not tempt us to do evil. Instead, He calls us to be the light and avoid sin and darkness. It is from the contents of our hearts that leads to tempting situations. Therefore, may we follow the words of Paul in Philippians 4:8 to cleanse our hearts and fill it with God glorifying content: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.”
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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