When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone
- James 1:13

James opens his letter with encouragement to his readers to persevere in the face of trials. God uses trials to shape our character. But James doesn’t want us to misunderstand what’s happening when we experience trials.

According to James, God sends trials but he is not responsible for temptations. That difference may seem arbitrary to us, but it matters tremendously to James.

Trials come in many forms: an illness, a loss of employment, a big fight, persecution, disappointment. Temptations appear as shiny things on the side of a trial. Maybe they’re a quick fix or something to numb the pain. They offer relief. Ultimately, temptations promise to help us endure our trials without fully relying on God. (And, hey, we all also know that temptations joyfully make appearances even when there’s not a trial for them to piggyback on)

James wants us to know that God isn’t the source of our temptations. He doesn’t want to crack the door for us to cave in to our every whim and desire. He knows how easy it is for us to baptize bad behavior behind the banner of “I feel like God wants me to do it.”

No, James wants us to view our temptations differently. They aren’t God’s whispers to us. God does not tempt anyone.

This truth about God and temptation challenges us to double down on our resistance to temptation. As Alex frequently tells us: “Do not complicate a hard situation with a bad decision.” When your faith is being tested, don’t make the trial worse by saying “Yes” to the temptations that call your name.

When have you felt tempted? What harm do you think it would do if you came to believe that God was tempting you?