In the dictionary D.N. Ushakova
TEMPTED, tempted, tempted; tempted, tempted, tempted (book). 1. par. suffering past vr. from tempt" title='what is tempt, the meaning of the word tempt in Ushakov's dictionary'>tempt; seduced (obsolete). He left, tempted by tempting promises. 2. only ·full. Having passed some kind of test, learned. Tempted by experience. 3. only ·completely, in what. Subtly knowledgeable from his own experience, proven, skilled in some matter. Experienced in love. “I, having been experienced in government for a long time, could restrain confusion and rebellion.” Pushkin.
What does it mean to tempt: 2 meanings - to put to the test or test the value
If we talk about what it means to tempt, we can find out that the Greek word “peirazo” - to tempt has two meanings: “to put to the test” and “to test the value of someone or something.”
In essence, temptation is a situation in which a person is forced, having tested his will, to spontaneously choose the side of good or evil.
Temptation gives us the opportunity to make a choice towards good
It may sound strange, but temptation is one of the most important values of being an Orthodox Christian. Temptation is a kind of test through which God’s Providence is fulfilled. Without these tests, a person will not be able to move towards holiness; he will not have an incentive for his development. It turns out that without temptation a Christian cannot take a single step.
Of course, the first temptation that occurred in paradise corrupted our first parents and severed the connection with God, but, according to the Fathers of the Church, only in this way could a person, out of ignorance, acquire awareness, freely choose the true and reject the evil, and become righteous.
(Matt 4:3-7; Luke 4:6-8)
Temptation is directly connected with the evil that haunts us everywhere. From the texts of the Holy Scriptures, Christians know for sure that God did not create evil and death. And He does not rejoice in the destruction of the wicked. The Lord himself does not tempt anyone, but tests a person with this evil power so that he overcomes temptation and becomes like Christ, who, fasting in the desert for forty days, three times rejected the temptation of Satan and affirmed the truth of life.
Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days in the desert and three times rejected the temptation of Satan.
In Paradise, Satan seduced the first people and was able to lead them into sin. Man became a prisoner of death, but retained the opportunity, through repentance and constant overcoming of temptations, to regain the lost connection with the Creator and defeat the devil.
Amazingly, Satan himself became an instrument of God. The Lord began to use the enemy so that a person could overcome his slander, could grow and improve as a Christian and achieve a complete victory of truth over a vain existence in time.
God never sends temptations greater than our strength
No matter what temptations come into our lives, the mercy of God will always be present in them, because everything happens according to His Providence. The Monk Paisius the Holy Mountain says that the Lord will not allow trials if nothing good comes out of them.
Only after seeing that something good that can happen will be more than evil, God allows the devil to do his work. The Apostle Paul tells us about this:
(1 Cor. 10:13)
“No temptation has befallen you except what is human; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but when you are tempted, He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
By allowing temptation, the Lord will not leave us without His help
If temptation comes to us, we must accept it, with the hope that the Lord will not leave us without His support and help. But you cannot seek temptations of your own free will. Saint Basil the Great said: “You don’t need to throw yourself into temptation ahead of time, before God allows it, but on the contrary, you need to pray so as not to fall into temptation.” If a person is self-willed, then temptation is only to his detriment and destruction, but if he is humble and seeks only the will of God, then evil is for his good.
Saint Basil the Great said that one should not look for temptations for oneself until the Lord allowed them, but on the contrary, one should pray to avoid them
Temptations are useful, but at the same time they are scary for people. The life of a modern person is full of temptations, these are: high speed on the road, recklessness, arrogance and many others. An Orthodox Christian needs to stop all of them with the words of Christ: “Do not tempt the Lord Thy God.” Unfortunately, people are now increasingly dying from excessive self-confidence and bragging. They have no fear of God and this is the main reason for their death. When a person begins to value life as a gift from the Lord, he will save both himself and his neighbor.
An inexperienced person needs spiritual and moral support at the moment of testing
When experiencing temptation, a person needs our support. It is very important here that the Church, his family and friends prayerfully, morally and spiritually support him in this difficult test. This is the dual nature of temptation. On the one hand, it helps a person to grow spiritually, and on the other hand, it requires one to completely entrust oneself to God and trust in His help, without which one may not be able to cope with the test and allow the devil to triumph over oneself.
Therefore, a person should under no circumstances tempt fate and God and specifically seek temptations for himself. Basil the Great wrote about it this way: “One should not throw oneself into temptations ahead of time, before God’s permission, but on the contrary, one must pray so as not to fall into them.” Back in the 7th century, Isaac the Syrian said: “Pray so as not to enter into temptation, first of all regarding your faith.” In this instruction, the saint warns that the goal of the devil is to shake our faith. And we need to remember God’s presence and that all the trials in our lives are not accidental. You cannot approach such trials from an egoistic position: get irritated, grumble, be annoyed. Such sophisticated people who have fallen into selfishness become even more vulnerable.
There are no contradictions in the words of the Lord’s Prayer “...and lead us not into temptation”
Many who have just come to the Church see a contradiction in the words “and do not lead us into temptation.” They believe that these words indicate that the Lord is tempting. But God uses temptation only for the spiritual growth of a person, and without His help, a person will simply be “crushed” by the weight of such a test.
The Monk John Cassian says the following about these words in the prayer “Our Father”: “So, the words of the prayer: “do not lead us into temptation” do not mean that “do not allow us to ever be tempted,” but “do not allow us to be tempted.” overcome by temptation."
The Church, through the sacraments, gives us help in overcoming temptations
The Church helps believers weakened by temptations to get help. Great support for a person at such a moment is the sacraments. The priest's instructions, the sacraments of confession and the Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ help a person to strengthen himself and resist temptation.
Through the sacraments, the Lord himself invisibly strengthens the believer, and through Holy Communion the feat of such a faithful person is sanctified so that he does not suffer. This is how the Church helps a person become a true warrior of Christ.
Through Holy Communion the Lord himself invisibly helps the believer to strengthen and resist temptation
With a competent look at the temptations sent, we can defeat them
- We need to overcome lack of faith and despair. And stop relying on yourself.
- New temptations that will inevitably overtake us after passing the first ones are negligence, self-justification and lukewarmness. It is necessary not to appear, but to become a real Christian.
- It seems to us that we are successfully fighting our sinful passions. But by thinking this way, we expose ourselves to another temptation of the devil, powerful and evil—the test of pride.
- Walking the path of self-improvement, everyone should be afraid of vanity. If we think about ourselves that we have already reached some spiritual peaks, have become more righteous, then we thereby expose ourselves to another fall.
We are only at the beginning of the path to salvation, but we must know where to move and what to do. To do this, carefully, without fanaticism and self-pity, follow step by step along the road of spiritual ascent in order to ultimately achieve unity with our Creator.
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In the Dictionary of Synonyms
experienced, experienced, sophisticated, skilled; a seasoned kalach, wise by experience, a lot of experience behind him, an old sparrow, knows all the moves and exits, a shot sparrow, a trained eye, been in trouble, ate his teeth, ate his teeth, sophisticated, ate a dog, knowledgeable, seasoned, trained, seasoned , knowledgeable, experienced, shot, seasoned, seasoned, has been through fire, water and copper pipes, experienced, hunted beast, seasoned, skillful, learned, has been through troubles, old beast, has eaten bread from seven ovens, knows all the ins and outs, shot a beast, a poisoned wolf, a stuffed eye, he has eaten bread from more than one oven, he has been through fire and water, he has cards in his hands, a shot bird, he has seen a lot in his life, the old wolf. Ant. inexperienced
What is temptation
This word has long been familiar to everyone, but have you ever wondered what it really means? But he has a very interesting story.
Origin of the word
The etymological root of this word form is art. It is borrowed from the Old Slavonic verb “tempt”, which meant “to test”. This verb comes from the verb “kusiti”, which has the same meaning and is borrowed from the Germanic languages. Then, as a result of historical processes, an alternation of sounds occurred, “s” turned into “sh”, and now we have before us the root “temp”.
As we see, the history of this concept goes deep into antiquity.
Meaning of the concept
According to the explanatory dictionary of D. N. Ushakov, it means temptation, the desire for something unlawful, forbidden.
Also, one of the themes of this definition, according to the interpretation of D.N. Ushakov, is “the action from the verb to tempt”, which means that it retains the semantics of testing. Of course, this is how we also express ourselves in our daily lives.
But there are such concepts as a sophisticated viewer and a sophisticated person. They denote an experienced person who has seen a lot in life and who is difficult to surprise with anything. The meaning of this word has undergone some changes, but still, initially the use of this concept was associated with biblical stories.
Mentions in the Bible
As you know, the Bible is the most important book for Christians. Its dogmas indicate to humanity how to live and how not to live. And naturally, concepts from this book often appear in our modern language. One of these concepts is art. In the Bible, it is interpreted as a test that is given to a person in order to test the strength of his faith. If a person passes the test, he will gain eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven; if he does not pass, his soul will go to hell.
According to the Bible, every person is subject to temptation. Even the Lord was subject to trials during his solitude in the desert.
Lucifer also underwent a test of his faith and love for God, and, as we know, he did not pass it, betrayed his creator, and as a result fell.
Another famous biblical figure who succumbed to temptation was Adam, who followed his wife Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. The fate of both is also unenviable, because they were expelled from the Garden of Eden.
As we see, over time, biblical semantics were lost, and this word ceased to indicate a test specifically in Orthodoxy, now it simply means testing a person in something.
How to deal with temptations
The question of how to get rid of the craving for forbidden pleasures torments many.
Here are a few points that, as the priests explain, will help people not succumb to temptation:
- one must have strong faith and principles;
- if you are a believer, then in difficult times, sincerely pray, and then God will help you overcome this feeling;
- be busy and purposeful, then work and favorite things will distract you from sinful thoughts;
- at the moment when you are ready to break, imagine what will happen after you do this, visualize the moment of repentance, then it will be easier to give up the temptation;
- try to help your neighbors more often and protect the weak - this will develop a sense of mercy and kindness;
- and most importantly, never doubt yourself and your abilities.
Types of temptations
Everyone has their own desires and aspirations, their own prohibitions, so the temptation will be different for everyone. Some people can’t resist buying a cake, while others can’t resist themselves and go to school/to the gym/to work. After all, this is all a kind of test.
Material goods
Of course, first of all it’s money. Who in this world has not dreamed of wealth? From time immemorial, people have strived to get as much profit as possible, and often - not always by legal means. Theft and robbery, fraud, doing shameful things - whatever the thirst for money pushes people to do.
Temptations and sinful pleasures
The human soul easily succumbs to all sorts of temptations, you just have to beckon. We know well from history how many wars were started because of the desire for power, because of pride, and even because of love for a woman (after all, the Trojan War began precisely because of Helen the Beautiful).
And all this is the temptation of the devil to which people succumbed. Envy of one's neighbor, betrayal and betrayal, carnal pleasures, violations of God's commandments are great temptations that have always contradicted Christian morality, and ethical standards in general.
Trials of the Lord
As already stated, our God was also tested by the devil. But, of course, he passed them with dignity.
These are the tests:
- Hunger. Satan suggested that Christ turn stones into bread, to which Christ replied: “it is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
- Pride, when the evil one told Christ to jump from a cliff, and the Angels caught him. This was the answer: “It is also written: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
- Faith. Satan offered Christ power over everything on earth if he would worship him, but Christ was also unshakable.
