Resisting Temptation
How can you resist a discounted sale––75% off? Wow! Maybe your weakness is a hotdog. The tickling mustard aroma says, “I’ve got to have one now.” Can’t help turning your head after an attractive, smiling women walks by? Ever have a burning urge to get even after you’ve been humiliated? The kinds of temptations are as varied as the kinds of people. What’s really important are the factors that influence one to maintain self-control. For a particularly powerful temptation more than one factor may be needed.
Daniel, in my novel, Baggage Burdens., is burning with anger. He sees his mother pushing the family to move into the city. She must change her mind. His overwhelming urge is to tell Jill, his mother, what he thinks of her request. Actually he’d really like to blast her for her selfish wish. What can possibly rein in his fury? His father’s respect? His girlfriend’s advice? His promise to keep certain information a secret? A hope that reason will prevail? Which pressure or combination of pressures could motivate his self-control? To make the right prediction, consider Daniel’s emotional state.
Daniel mounts his horse and looks back at Thomas, who is still standing by the table. With a quick smile and a second wave, Daniel rides to Eve’s at a fast trot. With each minute that passes, he fights the thought that his mother is a selfish person. How can she not see what her desires are doing? How can she be so single-minded? How can his father not see how unrealistic she’s being? By the time he reaches the Wicksberg residence, he’s boiling. Something has to be done. Talking to his mother is the key, but what can he say? His promise to Thomas means he can’t show he knows about the loan.
No sight of Eve. Daniel’s eyes rove over the front lawn. Eve calmly walks out to meet him. Her relaxed spirit cools his internal fires.
The clothes she wears suggests she is out to impress. Gone is her everyday around-the-house attire. Eve’s confident stroll implies everything is under control in her world.
She looks up at the boy she intends to marry. He hasn’t asked her yet, but she knows he will. Eve’s father and mother both approve of Daniel.
Eve admires this tall, straight-seated horseback rider. Once he surprised her by a strongdefenseof his mother after several male classmates poked fun of her. She knewabout Daniel’s low opinion of Jill. Eve guessedDaniel’s actions rose out of his respect for his father. She treasures that family commitment.
Pointing away from her family’s house, he whispers, “Let’s walk.”
He’s really troubled. Must be something confidential. After several long minutes, she asks what is troubling him.
“The rumors are true.” After a long pause, Daniel adds. “Dad has financial problems.”
Eve grasps the impact of the disturbing revelation. Daniel has always thought very highly of his father. He could do anything he sets his mind to. Money was never a concern.
“What makes you think so?”
In a low voice, Daniel says, “I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
In the same low voice, she says, “And I won’t tell anyone.”
“Not even your parents.” He looks directly at Eve.
“Not even my parents.”
“My dad asked Thomas for a loan.” Daniel releases the information like water rushing down a drain when the plug is pulled.“The bank’s mortgage isn’t high enough.”
After a brief silence, Eve whispers, “Did Thomas let him have it?”
“A loan? No. Thomas gave the money as a gift. He said they’re like family.”
For the first time ever, Eve sees tears in Daniel’s eyes. “It’s not fair. It not fair. He’s such a good man.” Looking at Eve, he adds, “You know Dad said he’d drive me to school every day so I wouldn’t have to take homeschooling from my mother?”
“I know. You told me.”
“And now he’s broke. He’s broke because of that stupid house my mother wants. He has to borrow extra money.”
“It’s only a temporary thing. And it’s good that he has people like Thomas who are willing to help.”
“But it shouldn’t have happened. It’s all my mother’s fault.” Daniel takes a deep breath. Tension drains as if he lanced a boil that has been burning him. The peace is short-lived. “She doesn’t have to choose the most expensive house. She doesn’t even have to move. It’s almost like she has blinkers on. All she can see is her own narrow self-interests. She can’t see the trouble she’s causing for the rest of us—Dad driving me to school, Amber boarding her horse here, Dad unhappy about moving to the city. It’s just not fair.”
“But there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s what your dad wants to do.”
“Maybe there is. Maybe, if I can convince my mother that the move is more trouble than it’s worth. Maybe she’ll change her mind, or maybe she’ll agree to a different house.”
“Well, if you’re pleading, you’ll have to change your tone. Challenging her desire to move will anger her, and you’ll end up upsetting your father.”
“I know. But it’s like your father says: just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it.”
haiku capsule:
a burning anger
emotionally charged time
bridle is needed.
Nextblog: PAIN of FORGETTING
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