Monk, Vegas, and God

On Friday night, I watched Monk with my parents. In one scene, Monk kept his eyes averted from a dancing girl in Vegas. (It made for some weirdness because he was talking to her at the time.)

I couldn't help thinking that in some ways, that's what we as Christians need to do, when faced with temptations. He wasn't averting his eyes for Christian reasons as far as I can tell, just because he gets upset about certain things easily, like lint on people's clothes, things not being even, and, apparently, Vegas dancers. (Wonder if he's okay with Degas dancers?)

Anyway, I know there are certain things that I just have to avoid, completely, to not be tempted. I used to have to avoid sugar for my health. (I still do, but it's not as hard, because I'm used to it by now.) Anyway, sometimes I knew that if I just looked at it too much I would probably give in, and wreck my health. So I just had to look away, and keeping looking away from it. I don't have to do that as much anymore.

On the other hand, I have to do that with some things that can cause me to be tempted to sin.

I heard a sermon one time, about how to not get caught by sin, we shouldn't look at it (concentrate, think about, as well). I've definitely found it to be true in my own life. The preacher used as an example Abraham's nephew Lot, when he moved near to Sodom and Gomorrah.

He started out by camping on the plains near there, and looking at it. Then he moved closer, and then he moved in. In the end he was sitting at the gates with the elders, which meant he was pretty important and definitely part of the city. His idea was that it is in looking at sin (and thinking about it) that we get tempted by it, and then develop a taste for.

So in my own life, I find that if I'm thinking about sins, even just that they're bad, it's like it's almost setting me up for them -- for those temptations.

Of course it's much easier to know this than to successfully keep my thoughts and 'looking' where they belong -- on God.