I begin by quoting the words of C.S. Lewis, taken from his book, Mere Christianity: I imagine that many people would relate to that observation. Only those who resist temptation (and perhaps spend a lifetime trying to resist it) probably know how strong a challenge it is to will power and spiritual discipline. Those who constantly yield to temptation can never critically reflect upon it. They can never stand back from it and see it for what it really is. They cannot truly understand its real consequences or know how things could have worked out differently if they had taken another path.
We are reminded of the spiritual challenges of temptation in the Gospel reading in which we hear that Jesus (Luke 4:2).
This story would certainly have struck chords with 1st Century Christians. This and many other passages in scripture suggest to us that people in ancient times had a very clear view about the origins of human evil that is quite different from our own. In ancient times, it was generally believed that all the evil actions of human beings were somehow derived from negative forces outside of themselves. They could never come to terms with the notion that the evil we commit comes from within us. The people of Jesus’ time saw the world as permeated with invisible spirits; some were good, like benign, helpful friends, others were malevolent and intent upon corrupting the lives of those whose who were possessed by them and these spirits were feared obsessively. So to align oneself with God it was essential to court the attention of good spirits and protect oneself vigorously from the unwarranted attention of demons. Every culture in the world has feared the destructive presence of evil spirits and an incredible body of folklore – prevalent even in modern times - is concerned with superstitious strategies and devices for averting the power of malevolent spirits.
Such is the hold that belief in demonic forces and the perceived temptations of the Devil have upon the human spirit. But in the contemporary world we view things rather differently. Disturbing cases of demonic possession and influence are still reported of course, but now we know more about ourselves, so instead of wondering what external forces might cause us to behave badly, we are now inclined to look within ourselves to discover what might cause our moral weakness. As children we all internalise the norms of right and wrong through the attitudes of our parents, teachers and others. We are programmed to behave in certain ways that become embedded in our brains and emotions during our childhood and these are continually reinforced as we grow older. The language of demonic influence is still there of course and perhaps we should not be surprised at this. One American psychologist has referred to the ‘Lucifer effect’ - the impact of the emotional prisons in which so-called “normal” people live out their inner lives that can eventually create aberrant and evil behaviour. There are individually constructed ‘prisons’ that we each inhabit. These inward prisons may be deep-seated and complex; jealousy, loneliness, anger or hate, - physical and psychological abuse, perhaps from our formative years. The emotional ‘fallout’ from these things can grow and manipulate an individual into believing his or her only course of action is to break out, and to do so, may be tempted to use any means possible. These are our ‘inner demons’, a term often used to describe the sometimes unacknowledged, dark urges that dwell within us. Looking into ourselves, means knowing ourselves. It means pursuing ‘self-knowledge’. So coming to terms with what tempts us and why is a greater part of the process of self- examination.
The season of Lent brings us face to face with the question of temptation. So as we each confront our inner demons, we may ask: How are we to think of temptation now? What does temptation mean and what is the spiritual value of it? Temptation is a threshold where we wrestle with choice. It is a spiritual test. Temptation is an inner dialogue (and often a tortuous one). We have to make a decision and it is down to us. We have to take responsibility for our choices. It is surely childish to think that we can acquire some kind of partial absolution by putting the blame for our bad decisions on some external tempting force. Challenging temptation means spiritually growing up.
Now it is interesting to note that in these rather religiously intolerant times, Lent seems to have a certain measure of secular appeal. A lot of people who may have only a tenuous relationship with Christianity or church life, still acknowledge this penitential season and the value of self-denial. Yes, when they speak of Lent, it is usually about giving up unhealthy things, but occasionally I hear some individuals talking about the season in the context of a desire to sort out the direction of their lives. All of this seems to point to a deep Lenten need within all of us; a cry from our inner human wilderness calling us to reassess our lives, sort out our priorities and make changes. Yes, most of us are no doubt giving up things during this Lenten period – the usual suspects like chocolate, biscuits or alcohol perhaps – and maybe other exotic, calorific foods. But it has to be said that resisting these temptations probably has more to do with a temporary easing of conscience by correcting poor dietary habits or recovering the ‘body beautiful’ than real spiritual discipline – at least, if it is left on the level of simply trying to temporarily ‘give things up’. Perhaps we should be asking ourselves: Are we living ‘a sheltered life by always giving in?’
Originally, Lent was a period of intense spiritual discipline and inner preparation for baptism which then took place at the Easter Vigil. Baptism is a beginning. Like Easter it is a new beginning. Lent offers us the opportunity and potential to prepare for new beginnings. Like Jesus wrestling with his inner demons, we too can look to scripture to keep us on course with Gods’ will. So Lent should be a time of preparation through the study of scripture, theological reading, prayer, reflection, and general self-improvement.
I know from personal experience that venturing into self-knowledge can sometimes be a scary business, but if we are serious about setting out on a path to self-transcendence, then the real value of Lent is that it allows us to raise our spiritual game. Lent is about stepping outside of ourselves, beyond the ordinary confines of our ego and becoming aware of the social, psychological and spiritual forces – good and bad – that make us who we are. Lent is about getting out of our comfort zones, taking hold of our lives and getting a grip.