She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

~Genesis 3:6 NLT

Too many of my body parts were heading south, and the scales were recording the wrong number. Alas, I knew I must do something. I must watch those temptations.

Age. Weight gain. Disfigured bodies. They all seem to connect. At least, they had for me. And whatever action I would choose wasn’t a New Year’s resolution because that date had passed over a month before.

I had recently undergone a colonoscopy. After being unable to eat solid food for two days, I gorged myself on everything I could find. After two weeks of trying to make up for two days, I stepped on the scales. The number that appeared made me realize I must act quickly.

For years, I had been a five-day-a-week walker. After breaking my femur, my walking had slowed a little, and I hadn’t walked quite as far. But now, I was completely healed. I could do better. I picked up the pace and added another fifteen minutes to my daily exercise.

Then, there was the bread. I grew up in a bread-eating family. My paternal grandfather never sat at a meal without a saucer and six slices of bread decorating the table. Mom didn’t have bread quite that regularly, but it was a common staple in our home. My wife grew up in the same circumstances. Her mother and grandmother regularly served biscuits. I knew the bread was full of carbs and sugar. It needed to go. So, I cut back—as difficult as it was.

But the most tricky temptation to master was the snacks—snack cakes, cookies, and potato chips, to be exact. I’m an early riser, so by 7:30 each evening, my head nods. Not wanting to go to bed that early, I snack to stay awake. Not a good idea for weight loss.

I discovered that the temptations to gain weight surrounded me. I had to overcome them to see the number on the scales reverse.

Unfortunately—thanks to Adam and Eve—we live in a sinful world. We can’t ignore temptations and expect them to disappear. Instead, we must arm ourselves with God’s spiritual armor to face them and then intentionally fight to overcome them.

Planning is also a must. We never know precisely when temptations will come or in what form they might appear. Planning helps prepare us, regardless of when or how they arrive. Instead of late-night snacks, a daily dose of God’s Word and prayer helps with this–along with healthy snacks, of course.

Staying away from what we know will tempt us is also wise. I can’t expect my wife to remove all the junk food from our pantry. We have seven growing grandboys who expect junk food when they come to Meme and Pop’s. My part entails exercising willpower by staying out of that part of the food cabinet.

God promises he won’t let the temptations be more than we can handle with his assistance, but he expects us to do our part to prepare for them.

Make a plan to resist temptation. God will honor it and lend you his help, which we must have to be successful.

Father, I depend on your strength and guidance to help me combat temptation.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2025: Watch Those Temptations: Martin Wiles: All Rights Reserved