Many individuals in the Bible have shown generations of readers how to be faithful to God. No matter what happened in these biblical characters’ lives or how much they seemed to be in danger, they did not falter in their loyalty and obedience to the one God. They refused to be tempted into wrong behavior or to abandon their convictions despite adverse circumstances or the threat of violence.
For example, Daniel was thrown into a den of lions as punishment for refusing to worship the king rather than God; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were sentenced to death by fire because they held on to their faith in God despite being ordered to bow down to a golden image; and Joseph never wavered in his trust in God no matter how many hardships he had to overcome. Jesus was tempted by the devil but categorically turned down each lure. And Paul and some of Jesus’ disciples spent time in prison for their support of the new Christian faith.
Understanding temptation in a broader sense has been tremendously helpful to me when my first instinct wasn’t to be gracious.
