God is faithful.
No one can tempt God.
God never tempts anyone.
These two truths are significant for two important reasons:
1. As one who is never tempted to do evil, or fulfill selfish desires, God is completely trustworthy. He never has an ulterior motive. He has no unfulfilled needs or desires. People can not add to nor subtract from the eternal, infinite, and intrinsic happiness of God. This is both humbling and comforting.
2. As one who never tempts anyone, everyone can know that God never created needs or desires with no intention to fulfill them. Satan is the tempter and teaser. Selfish desire is the true source of temptation, according to the book of James in the Bible.
Therefore, God is faithful. Trustworthy. Reliable. He never tempts, but helps people resist temptation. He does this by fulfilling their true needs and desires, and thus giving them the power to resist the deception behind every temptation: that God is somehow or in some way withholding good that Satan is more than willing to give.
Satan suggested this to Eve in relation to the forbidden. Ignoring the already given was the deception. Adam and Eve were denied ONLY ONE THING! They had God Himself, each other, and literally the world! They could have as many children as they wanted. In fact, God WANTED them to fill the earth with children! They lacked nothing to take care of a world full of children. This in addition to the glory, honor, and power of God. But Satan got Eve to ignore the overwhelming goodness and faithfulness of God. When she and Adam did this, all that is evil in this world came into being.
Yet God is never tempted, nor does He tempt anyone. He is not selfish, nor does he create needs and desires with no intention to fulfill them. Knowing this truth in the New Year gives power to resist the deception behind every temptation.
But this is the truth:
Every good and perfect gift comes from God!
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