Infectious Consequences
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able; but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Overtaken – Look in the rearview mirror. There’s something coming behind you. It’s traveling faster and faster and suddenly, there are two big headlights blinding your vision. That’s what it means to be “overtaken.” You can’t get out of the way.
Think about this word for a moment. Temptation overtakes us. We were just driving along, minding our own business, when suddenly there’s an eighteen-wheeler on the rear bumper. Temptation rides the highway of life, just looking for the slow-moving, lazy driver. It comes up on us without warning, flashing lights, blowing the horn, trying to force us from the road. Paul tells us that this tactic is entirely human. That’s what he means with the phrase, “common to man.” Everyone knows what it is like to be pushed.
The Greek verb, lambano, is in the perfect tense. This is important. The perfect tense describes an action in the past which has consequences in the present. Human temptations have been around a long time; money, power, sex – and all the variations – what is common to all of us. The legacy of these puncture wounds carries over from generation to generation. What was a temptation to your parents and your grandparents is still your temptation. Psychology finally caught up with the Bible. Temptations are generational. But notice that Paul excludes one category of temptation – those that are not common to man. We are not overtaken by divine temptations as Lucifer was. Thank God for that! We can hardly handle the human kind. Imagine the size of the headlights in the rear view mirror if the temptations were those common to spiritual beings! We would all fall.
This thought implies two critical things about our experience with temptation. First, there is nothing new under the human sun. What you are going through is not unique to you. As soon as you let that sink in, you will know why Paul exhorts us to share our burdens and confess to one another. Your sin is not yours alone. Neither is your temptation. You are not so special that God reserved some temptations solely for you. So, go find a brother or sister and tell them the truth about your struggles.
Secondly, even in the midst of your worst headlight scares, God has shielded you from another category of temptations that would drive you insane. He is faithful to us, not allowing us to even experience those temptations that are so powerful we could not resist. When you feel the pin prick, remember that God is withholding the sword. You can deal with a pin prick, so thank Him for His mercy. That action alone will defeat the enemy’s strategy.
