Temptations

Once upon a time, a rich man put an advertisement for a chauffer
to drive his car. Three men responded and came for interview. Each
of them was asked exactly the same question by the rich man: “How
close can you drive to the edge of a cliff?”
The first man interviewed said, “I can drive so well that I can
drive the car one foot away from the edge of the cliff.”
The second man, not to be outdone, said, “My driving skill is so
good that I can drive just one inch away from the edge of the cliff.”
But when the third man was asked this, he replied, “I will drive
as far away from the edge of the cliff as possible!” Well I think you
can guess who got the job – the third man.
The lesson to learn from this is that if we understand the issues at
stake, we would not ask how far we can go in seeking pleasure in
questionable forms, nor would we be always asking people to define
for us the furthest possible limit in the kind of music we are allowed
to hear, the kind of clothes we can wear, the kind of places we can
visit, the kind of shows that we can watch, or the kind of functions
we can attend without crossing the threshold. If we understand the
danger that comes from associating oneself with sinful lifestyles and
the folly of loving the world and the things that are in the world, if
we treasure our relationship with God and do not want to
compromise our love for Him, then we should be asking instead,
“How far can I safely keep myself away from these things?” And
whenever we feel even the slightest doubt that God would approve of
the pleasure in question, we should be willing to give it up.