Devotion 

Temptation Produces Endurance 

Frances Taylor 

If you've never been tempted, how do you know you have virtue? Just like if you've never doubted, how do you know if you have faith? James is telling us that meeting temptation head on builds endurance; it strengthens us in our resolve to overcome it. James also is telling us if we're unsure of which way to go, we can ask God and he will give us the answers we need. Every time we pray the Our Father, we ask God to help us by leading us not into temptation, but if temptation finds us, we can ask God to help us. The reason we need the gift of wisdom in certain circumstances is because we at times have to choose between two goods, or two evils. In the case of two good, which choice will benefit the most and in the other, which is the lesser of the evils? This is a situation that emergency services face often when there are multiple patients or multiple injuries in an accident. They call this triage. They check out the situation and decide who they need to treat first.

For us, we can't depend on medical knowledge, but moral understanding. In business, two candidates for a job might be equally qualified to be hired or promoted, but someone has to make a choice between the two. Believe it or not, making good choices is a skill that can be learned. We come to understand bad choices by being allowed to suffer the consequences. Children who are protected by their parents and never allowed to fail don't learn this skill. If a child doesn't do homework and has to stay after school or can't go out to recess, he learns to do his homework. A child that shoplifts who has to return the item him/herself learns not to shoplift. As we grow, we will face more serious temptations, but if we have learned that actions have consequences both positive and negative, we learn when to say no and when to say yes. And when we're not sure, we can ask God.

Prayer 

Lord, you have given us the rules for life, but sometimes life is confusing. Please send us your Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom to make the right choices. Amen.