Always I’ve found resisting temptation easier than yielding—it’s more practical and requires no initiative. —Alice B. Toklas—
If temptation is easy to set aside, it can’t tempt us very strongly. The real, insidious temptations are the ones to which we yield unthinkingly: temptations to inertia,
for example, or to stinginess or self-punishment. It’s part of our puritan heritage that makes us equate “temptation” with “indulgence.” We’re armed against sensuous indulgence; we can be strong in resisting a casual romance, a piece of pecan pie, or an extra hour’s sleep. We don’t feel tempted by the small meannesses that nibble
away at our souls, and therefore we yield without examining alternatives. Can we learn to recognize these little temptations to anger, to a closed heart? Can we learn to
see the feelings that we’re tempted to suppress—feelings of love, pity, or communion with others—as occasions for spiritual growth and deliverance?
I needn’t deprive myself of joy. Learning to recognize what tempts me to joylessness will help me to develop my spiritual wealth.