The Nature of the Beast

Temptation...it's something we all have, whether we are the worst of sinners or the holiest of saints. Sometimes we are tempted to "little" things (though no sin is really "little"), sometimes...not so much.

And, like it or not, we all fall sometimes. Quite often, for the vast majority of us. Proverbs 24:16 says that even the just man falls seven times (seven, in Hebrew connotation, meaning "a LOT").

It's not even as though we will one day hit a point where we won't have to deal with the effects of original sin - there is no plateau of "permanent holiness" where we can freeze with our eyes to heaven and our hands folded like a saint statue. Even Saint Francis, widely considered the holiest mortal to live besides Mary, struggled constantly with temptation. We all have demons to wrestle.





Sometimes we win. Sometimes we have moments of extraordinary grace to the point where we can say "no". Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we fall to the same sins again and again and again. We feel worthless and forgotten that we failed again. Falling, though, is not the end.

God understands. He gets it. Jesus knew firsthand what temptation was - his temptation in the desert being the classic example. He knows that we are weak, so he built us a contingency plan: confession.

It's one of the "less popular" of the sacraments - admitting guilt isn't a strong point of the human spirit - but I still urge you to go. Go often. Try new priests if you have to, but go either way.

For a fantastic (and not overly-wordy or difficult) read about confession and everything related to it, I'd highly recommend Lord, Have Mercy by Scott Hahn.

Right now, reading this, it's easy to say we can beat temptation! It's easy to say that we will never fall, that we will be strong. It's easy to say that we will resist no matter what.

But when we are actually in that moment...when temptation isn't an abstract term, but a burning force within us...it's not so easy. It's hard. Really hard.

So hard, in fact, that no human can withstand it. The devil is so powerful, any human that tries to fight him alone is doomed from the start. We need something stronger. We need God.

God knows this. That's why he sent us angels. Angels aren't something we usually hear about anymore, outside of that short little prayer they teach to second-graders. But they are real, and they are magnificent. They are warriors. They are soldiers who have fought the devil before. They were there at the great battle, and they've been here for you ever since. They know what they are doing. They are fierce. They are strong. They can fight whatever demons come for you, if you let them. Let them.

Your angel is right around you, right now, whether you can see them or not. Whether you believe in them or not. Just as God doesn't go away because somebody doesn't believe in Him, your angel will stay even if you never acknowledge them. But you should, because that will make the battle that much easier.

Sin is powerful, but God is more powerful. Sin is enticing, but God is right. Temptation will burn within you with lust and greed but God will burn within you with love.

That's the nature of the beast, and that's the nature of God.

Choose God.