Tempted to Negotiate

What was the second thing you did when you left your home this morning? The first was to load up on some energetic beverage…then where did your mind wander? Was it to the next task, the next appointment, the next meeting, etc., that would further your goal of being the best, pushing forward on your projects, and making “it” worthwhile. How many of us pray to begin the day? even for a few minutes? It is refreshing to do so before the day begins. Before you launch new projects (expansion, new sales strategy, new customer initiative, the beta testing, hiring someone, interact with colleagues, vendors, customers, neighbors, etc.) what should you do? Pray, fast, and allow yourself to be tempted?

Luke 4:1-2 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

We all have some temptations in our daily walk so how does the Gospel tell us to respond? Jesus responded with Scripture and certainly not by negotiating with the devil. Negotiating with temptation leads to some compromise and this often leads to bad long term consequences.