[Fir
st posted in 2012; ‘dated’ with the release of Iphone 5; then reposted in 2015 when Iphone 6 came out, followed by more iPhone upgrades 6+ and 6S+ and now we’re into iPhone7 (update 2018: iPhone 8 & 10) and iWatch and who knows what newer more fantabulous techtoys we will yet be tempted to procure, get addicted enough to spend our hard-earned money on, while Steve-Jobs-clones continue nonstop to revolutionize digital earth!
Since the first posting of this article, the genius who brainstormed and birthed his brainchild “Apple” has passed on . . . or should we rather say . . . ‘risen to iCloud Heaven’ uttering the supposed last words “oh wow oh wow oh wow” . . . whatever it might have meant. Now what has this article got to do with Steve Jobs and his company? Actually, it’s all about the perfect icon he chose (from biblical sources no doubt) which relates to our topic here. Rather than write yet another article on the original topic (you have to read to know what it is), we’ve just elaborated on the same which is still very much relevant and therefore, worth a revisit.—-Admin1.]
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Image from www.boladafoca.com
On the eve of September 12, 2012 while fast-clicking the remote to see what’s on TV, I caught a glimpse of a talk show hostess holding up what looked like a New York tabloid front page photo of a full page size red apple with a bite. That recognizable icon that is on all products and plush outlets of this giant tech-company needs no accompanying brand name. The most recent media hype had been building up to the release of its cellphone version #5 the day after 9/11 [anniversary] and everyone is salivating including yours truly who needs a cellphone upgrade like a hole in the head.
Image from root.vn.ua
[Update 2015: have just upgraded AGAIN to Iphone 6, passed on my iPhone5 to my son.
Update 2015: Got myself iP6S+; passed on my iP6 to son who passed on his iP5 to his daughter.
Update 2016: Didn’t succumb to iPhone 7, kept my 6S+ but got an iWatch which still needs an iPhone to operate it. Go figure!
Update 2018: Into iPhone 8, but not tempted to change again to iPhone 10. At some point, this upgrading insanity and addiction has to be curbed!]
Now this is not so much about consumer suckers like yours truly, as it is about the line that accompanied the front page photo:
“Temptation is a sin only when you give in.”
It not only rhymes, it’s savvy advertising, which brings us to what immediately comes to mind.
The most obvious connection is of course the forbidden fruit that Eve first, then Adam, took a bite of and supposedly caused original sin, death, damnation, if we are going to believe Christian dogmatic interpretation. And another example is firstborn Cain. While entertaining envy and jealousy toward Abel and at the same time resentment toward the God he made an offering to (who preferred Abel’s to his), he was warned that sin was crouching at the door but that he need not open the door to let it in. There is that period of building up to committing a sin and a moment of making a decision whether or not to give in. Well, unfortunately for the first parents and the first firstborn, they chose to give in and only then did they commit sin. Remember man has free will and does not have to give in to temptation.
For the strangest reason, a second connection I made was something else that has been in my head waiting to be expounded, about a teaching attributed to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: [Please check out this link for a more thorough discussion: Revisit: The Sermon on Sinai vs. The Sermon on the Mount]
[KJV] Matthew 5:21-22, 27-30:
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
I had always thought these teachings were extreme but who was I to question the Son of God? Jesus accused the Pharisees of putting a yoke on the necks of their people by fencing the commandments of God, but this teaching is a double yoke, far stricter than extreme Pharisee-ism. But if indeed Jesus said so, well . . . that’s ‘gospel truth’!
It was not until I studied the TORAH that I was surprised to discover it just wasn’t so; that is, simply being tempted is not tantamount to actually sinning. There will always be temptation in all forms and degrees in our lives, depending on our ‘Achilles heel’. What tempts one person is not necessarily temptation to someone else. The conscience-stricken among us suffer the most, thinking if you as much as think the forbidden, you’ve already sinned.
Image from sumtimez.blogspot.com
“Temptation
is a sin
only when
you give in.”
Here’s not-the-best analogy because it’s not what we would categorize as “sin” but it’s applicable. For the heavyweights among us, we have to go on a diet and exercise to work off the fat. If we resolve to do so (and this is exactly how it works) the minute we decide, all of a sudden all we can think of is food, food, food! TV watching is the worst tempter; lean people who indulge and never gain weight eat with gusto around us. Temptation, temptation, temptation! BUT unless we give in, we’re bound to lose . . . the pounds I mean.
Admittedly, placing ourselves in temptation’s way could make us fall, so better to avoid it. But if we cannot avoid it, self-restraint amidst the temptation is even the better way. Have we really sinned because we looked, perhaps desired, but did not give in? The sin is in the act, not the thought. We find a bag full of cash, we need it, we could use it, nobody would know, we’re tempted, tempted, tempted, we keep it for ourselves, then we sin! However, being tempted, thinking about it, but deciding to return the bag in the end (even grudgingly), we have not committed a sin even if we’ve thought about it, continue to think about it, wish we had not returned the bag. The act, the deed in the end is the clincher! Clincher for what? The final decision of the tempted: give in (sin), do not give in (no sin committed).
The NT teaching causes unnecessary guilt; we feel guilty when we haven’t done anything wrong. Everybody gets angry at someone, justifiable or not, but that is not tantamount to murder. Anger could lead to murder if you keep stoking it, but how many really take anger to the extent of taking a life? Anger is one thing, murder is another, you can’t equate one with the other.
Image from evolveconsciousness.org
Apply the same principle on the opposite of the evil inclination, sincerely intending to do something good, the good inclination. What benefit is it to the supposed beneficiary if a good person with all good intentions have the good heart to give, the good mind to give, the good will to give, but never reaches the GOOD ACT of actually giving? This benevolent generous person with all the charitable intentions is of no worth at all to anyone except him/herself! “I’m good, I’d like to give, I intend to give” . . . but doesn’t ever give! Should this person be rewarded for “good deeds”, really?
What is the definition of “deed”? Do, not just think, do not just intend, do not just want to, but actually do, Do, DO! Should that person be rewarded for “good thoughts”? What good did “good thoughts” do to anyone else but that person? Remember, TORAH is Other-centered; it’s not about me, it’s about the ‘other’ whether it be God or another human being or my pet. Isn’t it strange that Torah-observers agree that a pet owner should feed his pet first before feeding himself? That’s how ‘other’-conscious the Torah-giver requires us to be . And wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if each human being were thinking AND ACTING on his/her thinking as long as it is good?
Thinking with no action benefits no one . . . except in the area of “sin” where the benefit redounds to the would-be-sinner. Chew on that.
NSB@S6K
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Image from www.quickmeme.com
P.S. I found this Q&A on the web dealing with exactly this point. There was a time in the past I would have given the same answer to the question, but not anymore after understanding the teachings in YHWH’s TORAH. Now I feel sorry for this guilt-ridden guy. Find out WHY, read on.
Question:
I have a question maybe you can answer because I think I’m in a very strange and confusing situation.
Since very young I like women, very much. I also did watch a lot of pornography but not anymore. So I did and sometime still look at women a lot.
I’m married now, and I have been looking. I’m afraid I had commited adultery because of looking. I say so because I don’t know if when I look if it is with lust or not. I look at women and some of them are very attractive and have some specific things I like. I focus lots of time on what I like in women. I really don’t know if it’s lust because when I look at them I have to confess that I’m very focused, but it is not like I want to take that woman home to my bed or commit adultery with her. I know it is wrong to do so, but I also don’t really have the feeling to do so. I’m really stupid when looking (looking and not thinking very much things at the same time) and very often I just say to myself: “Wow. If only my wife had a body like that!” But I don’t have an urge to would want to go to bed with one of those women, so I don’t think that that desire is that strong. Will you please tell me? Well, I do sometimes think: “If my wife was like that, I wouldn’t be able to get to work the next day!”
Sometimes I get kind of angry or upset when I see other much more beautiful women around us (when I’m with my wife) and I don’t know if it is because I’m jealous and would want my wife to be as attractive or if this is also lust.
This is why I’m mailing you, because I don’t know what this is. I don’t want to commit the sin of adultery. Surely not physically, and I’m pretty confident I probably won’t, but mentally I don’t know what to do!
I asked for forgiveness, and I don’t want to lust after any other women than my wife. But again, how can I combat it? Besides, I’m not sure if it’s lust or not. Please enlighten me on this, and what do I have to do to stop.
I really really want to stop this if it is wrong because I really want to be saved! I don’t want to sin — I don’t.
Answer:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
One of the problems Jesus had with the Jews of his day were the word games they would play. The Jewish men thought that as long as they weren’t climbing into other women’s beds, they weren’t sinning, no matter how sinful their thoughts about those women were. What Jesus was pointing out is that even though they had not physically committed adultery, they were still doing so in their heads. A sin doesn’t start with the physical action but with the thoughts of sinning.
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:21-23).
That you have no intentions of carrying out such sins doesn’t matter when you are playing out those sins in your head.
But adultery isn’t the only sexual sin that you can do in your head. There is also the sin of sensuality or lewdness — the pursuit of things that get you sexually aroused. “Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:13-14).
Let me put it this way, what benefit is it to your wife or your relationship with her when you compare her body to what you imagine other women’s bodies are like? How would you like it if she went around looking at other men’s abs or bulges and wondering what it would be like if her husband was built like that? It is foolish to compare one person to another. It is even more foolish to compare a single aspect of a person when all people are a complex mixture of things. To focus on physical traits is both shallow and worldly.
You have a woman you love and who loves you. Why aren’t you satisfied with that wonderful gift?
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?” (Job 31:1).
Follow up Q: Thank you for the answer! I understand, but what do I have to do now? I have asked for forgiveness. I don’t know what else to do. And about the looking, how can I try to stop it because I really don’t want to do it so I sin?
So concluding from your reply, I did commit adultery in my head?
I understand about being satisfied with my wife and not comparing her to others. I will try not to do so anymore. God help me to avoid it.
About the other issue, then I have a BIG problem. As I informed you, I look at specific things, I have done so since my childhood. I’m very observant, especially of little details in my surroundings. Even if somebody cuts a plant or tree down that’s on my way to work, for example, I notice that change has been made. This also (and not on purpose) applies to when it comes to females. If I’m sitting drinking something somewhere and suddenly a woman enters the place, I automatically look at the specifics without even thinking. After seeing what I saw THEN maybe the other things comes into place. Is this then pursuit of things that get you sexually aroused? If so, how can I stop this? Is this lewdness or adultery too? I’m very worried because in the Bible it says that whom comit adultery will not see or get in the kingdom of God. I’m extremely worried that I even think and feel I’m falling into a depression. It’s SEEMS impossible for me to do it right because all day everywhere and nowhere there are females walking around.
I’m sorry for talking so much time of you
A: No one is saying that you are to have blinders when it comes to women around you. It is what you look at and why you do so that can make looking wrong. I can’t see into your head. I can only go by what you have mentioned. Thus, I can’t say with any certainty that you are or are not sinning. I can only explain the guidelines.
If you want to avoid sensuality and adulterous thoughts, then stop considering the physical attributes of women in a sexual context. Keep your thoughts rational and if you are tempted to stray, remind yourself that you have promises to God and your wife to keep, which are far more important. Don’t compare any woman to your wife. “Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?” (Proverbs 5:18-20).
P.S. from Q: Thank you very much! I will definitely try to stop considering the physical attributes of women in a sexual context, but I know it is going to be hard for me seeing my history and how I am. But I will try. I’m already busy with it. I ask God to help me to overcome this because I really need to do so. Thank you very much and God bless you!