I remember my Catechism classes often mentioned temptation. We had the picture of the snake wrapped around the Tree of Life on the wall, tempting Eve who then turned around with an apple pie and tempted Adam. Of course, like many men he couldn’t resist a piece of pie and the rest is history. Temptation, we were taught is the thing of the devil and must be avoided at all costs—or we would be sorry. But is that true? In my life, I’ve given in to temptation lots and been happy about it. I believe that temptation isn’t always a bad thing. Am I wrong? Do the women on the Titanic regret not giving in to the temptation of that French pastry after dinner? I’ll bet they do, and really where was the harm, in the overall scheme of things?
Temptation, like many things in life is a balance. Of course none of us wants to “give in” to serious temptation—we don’t want to kill or harm anyone, steal, lie if it will hurt another, or any of those kinds of things. There lies a problem because often, we don’t know if what we want to do will cause harm to someone else. You want to go out partying and then drive home? You could end up killing someone in an accident, though when you gave in to the temptation of having that extra tequila, killing someone wasn’t your intention. And that’s why I think accepting the temptation of doing something requires thought. Reason, not emotion.
Hubby went to two different military schools—a high school and college. He maintains that the first thing to do is read the rule books thoroughly, so you knew what the rule was and the penalty for breaking it. Then you could decide if the punishment was worth the joy of breaking the rule. He never did anything that made someone else get into trouble–though he did sometimes join someone else if he liked what they proposed and could march the penalty tours. He actually did quite a bit of marching, but most always he decided ahead of time that doing so was his decision to make. He wasn’t an emotional rule breaker, he carefully considered what he wanted and what he was willing to pay for it. Had Jack been in the Garden of Eden, he would have baked the pie, eaten it himself and not gotten Eve involved. And he certainly would have had some chocolate confection while on the Titanic.
Put in our terms, we’re all acquainted with what is generally accepted by publishers and editors. If we want to write a first person POV novel but obey the rules by not writing in first person and we are accepted by an agent, then avoiding that temptation was a good thing. If we give in to the temptation of writing in first person and are not accepted, then at least we knew the penalty of being a free spirit. But what if we give in and are then accepted by an agent, and are published and become a NYT best selling author? Then breaking the rules paid off.
So is temptation a good thing or a bad thing? I maintain, if
you’re rational about it, it’s a relative thing. Accepted after weighing the negative and positive sides, temptation is not always a bad thing. And it can be fun!
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Dee
One Woman Only: The Good Man Series, Book 2 Jonah’s story! Can a simple mechanic rekindle with his high school love? She says no, but Jonah loves a challenge!