2020.01.12 And Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Overview & Learning Objectives:

After a brief review of the special words that we introduced last semester, we began our study of temptation.  This is a word that is mentioned every time we pray the Our Father.

Temptation is a powerful, persistent force that is felt by every human being - it is the desire to do something unwise or wrong. The force has a name, Satan - the Father of Lies (John 8:44) and his work began, in full view, with Eve at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Temptation promises excitement, but it inevitably deceives, and always leads to destruction. Remember what Eve was promised if she took a bite from the apple? What is the apple that you are tempted to bite?

We used a fishing pole as a prop to understand the nature of the lure. We talked about life from a fish's point of view, and how Satan sees us as fish able to be tricked into doing something that will lead to spiritual (and sometimes physical) harm. We learned that everyone is tempted - parents, teachers, priests, etc. - leading us to the story of "The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert".

It is written that, soon after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordon River, He went into the desert for a period of 40 days to fast, pray, and spend time with God. Then one day Satan came to tempt Jesus. But in each of the three attempts to get Jesus to doubt both God and Himself, Satan failed. It is through Jesus' example that we have learned how best to resist temptation.

His strategies were:

Fasting - When we deprive our bodies of pleasure, we can strengthen our character and be in a better position to say "no" when the urge to sin arises.

Studying the Scriptures - When we read the Bible, worship at the Divine Liturgy, and attend Sunday school, we are becoming stronger in faith and readying ourselves to better fight the battle with Satan.

Prayer - When we actively invite God into our daily lives, and work on our personal relationship with Him, our desire to please Him grows. As a result, our choices are good because God always works to the good for those who love Him. Asking our Guardian Angel for help is also a wonderful approach to staying out of trouble. As you have heard in the Rite of Baptism, each of us has been given a Guardian Angel of Light who has been specifically assigned by God to protect us. It is up to us to call upon our angel for help and guidance.

Receiving the Sacraments - When you receive the sacraments, you are filled with grace. Their power for transformational blessings can not be overstated. It is especially fruitful when we receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist, often.

Telling Satan to GO AWAY - When we use positive and empowering self-talk, we are following in Jesus' footsteps. It has been said that an "idle mind is the playground of the devil".  I think the truth is the complete opposite. The devil likes to actively engage our minds so that we over think and use our thoughts to rationalize, excuse, mislead, and abdicate. When this happens, as it surely will, we can fight back by recognizing the lure and choosing to ignore. Try shouting to yourself, "Get behind me, Satan!"  Matthew 16:23

Use of Sacramentals - When you receive Holy Water and other sacramentals (medals, icons, etc) you put on spiritual armor that drives Satan and his bad angels away.

Avoidance - When you avoid people, places and things that make you want to do the wrong things, you are intentionally increasing your chances of a favorable outcome - one that keeps you safe and allows you to live a life that is pleasing to God.

The lesson ended with our attention turned to another prop so that the children would have a concrete way of thinking about temptation. It is our classroom traffic light.  A yellow light is like temptation wherein you must slow down and use caution as you make your choice. If you give into temptation and act in an unloving, selfish way, you have stopped pleasing God.  That is the red light and it is a sin. If you say "no" to temptation, you get the green light, and you have chosen to live like Jesus.

At this time, we reintroduced the subject of conscience and the need to form it so that, when we are at a yellow light - faced with temptation - we have the wherewithal to hear the gentle voice within us that encourages us to live like Jesus.  And when we listen to and act upon that voice, it ALWAYS works to the good.

We then talked about mistakes and accidents vs. sin - using examples to make the distinction. We learned that ALL sin is called actual sin. The more serious offenses are called mortal sins. They cause a complete break in our relationship with God in such a way that, without repentance and the sacrament of Reconciliation, bring about the death of our souls. The smaller offenses are called venial sins that do not break our friendship with God, but do injure it.

By the end of the lesson, the children will (1) be able to retell the story of Jesus' temptation in the desert, (2) understand that everyone is tempted, but it is only a sin if you give into and take action on the desire, (3) know what to do when they feel the lure of temptation, (4) have the ability to distinguish between sin and mistakes or accidents that happen without intention, and (5) know that mortal sins are very bad, such that the sacrament of Reconciliation is required to restore a relationship with God.

New Words:

Temptation, Conscience, Actual Sin, Venial Sin, Mortal Sin

Classroom Reinforcement Activity:

The children were given red, yellow and green circle cutouts. As they heard a scenario, they had to hold up one of the colored circles to tell whether it was a sin, temptation, or living like Jesus. (Trust me, sometimes it is not so easy to decide!) They then decorated the circle cutouts in a personal way so that could remember the key points of the discussion.

At Home Reinforcement Idea:

Please consider using the traffic light analogy as a way to get your child to be more aware of the choices that they make. Slowing things down and learning to intentionally respond (versus reacting) is critical to effective decision-making that will improve the likelihood of successful outcomes. Add a spiritual filter, and the rewards of your efforts will be out of this world!