The Karmic Trap Of Temptation

I love stories that inspires one to look at life differently.  I had the pleasure of hearing just such a tale recently, and it was all about temptation.

Imagine Temptation unexpectedly knocking at your door one evening, bearing a gift-wrapped box. He bids you a good day and asks you to invite him into your home. He then offers you the box as a gift and tells you that every time you were to press a button on this box, it will immediately dispense $1,000! You will never have to worry about money again.

But with such an unusually generous gift there is bound to be a catch! Temptation then informs you that every time you press the money box button, a homeless person somewhere in a poverty-stricken community will pass away.

Temptation reassures you however that all people must die sooner or later. And besides, no harm will come to you or your family. You could even use some of the free money to help the disadvantaged in your own community! So, what do you have to lose?

Being human, we are all tempted from time to time. The question is, would you accept such a gift and press the button? Or would you tell Temptation to take the box and leave?

I remember my late mother telling me that when I was about two years old, she kept my baby stroller outside, in the garden, as she had nowhere else to store it when I no longer needed it. It stood there for many weeks, until a struggling young couple knocked on our front door (the woman appeared to be heavily pregnant) and offered to buy the stroller.

We gain the strength of the temptation we resist ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

My dear mom confessed to me that in those days, with four kids and a challenging husband with little work, she was extremely tempted to take the little money the young couple had offered her. But much to their delight, she gave it to them as a gift instead, along with some of my baby clothes.

I asked mom why she chose to be so generous, when she was not in a very good financial position herself at the time. She explained that she went with her conscience, as she could not bear the thought of that couple not having a stroller for their baby, because they could not afford to buy a new one.

The next time temptation comes knocking, ask yourself if someone else might suffer due to you giving in to it. If the answer is ‘yes,’ or even just a ‘maybe,’ it should be enough reason to instantly say no to whatever the temptation may be, big or small. Temptation is usually nothing more than a karmic trap. Our physical life journey already brings enough soul challenges and spiritual lessons. Selfishly giving in to any temptation that may bring harm upon others only serves to add to our karmic responsibilities, in this life and the next.