Preventing the Tempting

My sister just came home from basketball practice baring bad news. Apparently some rambunctious teenagers vandalized the girls locker room, and she discovered that all of her belongings had been stolen from her locker. She was especially upset when she saw that her brand new shoes had been stolen. And she loved those babies!

You're probably wondering how someone could have gotten into her locker, how they cracked the code. Well, since she did not actually lock her lock, there was no code to crack. Those teenagers hit the jackpot when they found her unlocked locker filled with snazzy athletic apparel. (Although, she did not understand why they wanted her deodorant, as well. That's...different.)

I was sitting in the living room when my mom and sister arrived at home. I heard them arguing about how irresponsible and careless leaving her locker unlocked was. My sister claimed that she didn't mean to leave it unlocked, but she was in a hurry and apparently it didn't snap shut all of the way. Then that erupted into another argument about managing her time better, and at that point I felt obligated to jump in and help out my little sis. Let's just say, I have been in her shoes before - no pun intended.

I have misplaced and lost many valuable things throughout my life. I have even had things stolen. Some of those items have been restored, and others have not. Looking back, I'll admit that almost every one of those times I was, in one way or another, at fault. The most common faulty trait I had in each of these unfortunate incidents was a lackadaisical attitude. I would subconsciously assume that others wouldn't be tempted, just because I wouldn't be. Of course stealing is the big no-no here, but in most of our situations it could have been prevented. Playing the role of the "innocent victim" simply wouldn't cut it.

Temptation is a powerful and deceptive force. Believe it or not, we have the power to eliminate a majority of the situations where people may be tempted to do wrong. For instance, we do not store our hard-earned money in a clear box at the end of our driveway. We store it in the bank where it is being carefully guarded. It is the responsible thing to do, and we are keeping it out of harms way. I do not believe that we, as human beings, are bad by nature. Although, sometimes we do have a lapse in judgement. If we do our protective work, which would also promote good living for all parties, we will begin to see man's true goodness.

There are exceptions, though. Some troubled individuals are driven by more than temptation. And in that case - all we can do is hope that someday they will find freedom and balance in their lives. When someone participates in wrong activity they become a slave to wrongdoing, and they are no longer in command over their own lives. Once having committed the faulty action, they are controlled by fear and paranoia. We have all heard that "the truth will set you free," and that statement could not be more accurate. Facing the music and accepting the consequences is never a joy ride, but it is much better than living a life in fear.

The great thing about experiencing these upsetting situations, is that they teach us extremely valuable life-lessons. Most people, myself included, learn the right thing to do once they have done the wrong thing. Maybe it is because of our invincible attitude, or assuming that nothing bad would ever happen to us...until it does. In any case, each of these situations are a blessing in disguise - if we learn from them. I look back on a lot of the "upsetting situations" I have been in with gratitude. If we do not learn to lock our locker when we are younger, we could be facing much more serious and trying problems in the future.