Addictions are a perfect modern day example of how God forces us into sin. If temptation was always possible to resist, there would be no such thing as an addiction. Addicts are people who find themselves tormented by temptations which completely overwhelm them. Why is it one man can take or leave a glass of wine, while another man becomes chained to the bottle? Why is one man able to push a pornographic image out of his mind while another man can’t rest until he sees more? The answer is God. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit and each one of us experiences a different level of it in each situation that we’re in. I might successfully resist 1,000 temptations only to find myself totally conquered by the next one that comes along. It’s so easy to judge those who get hooked on things we’re not personally tempted by, but the reality is that God is the only reason any of us can avoid sinning.

If you honestly examine your own life, you’ll find copious examples of God shoving you into sin by refusing to give you what you needed to resist it. And let’s remember it was God who cursed the world in the first place and He was the One who decided how sin would affect us. It was God who saddled each of us with this carnal shell which constantly lusts after evil. We can’t deny His responsibility in this for we didn’t create ourselves, He did. Babies don’t choose evil—they are born into it. Evil is what comes naturally to us, not righteousness. No one has to teach us how to lie or steal or be selfish and demanding. But we must be disciplined in order to learn how to be kind, patient, and polite. Righteousness is a struggle while evil is automatic—this is God’s doing, not ours. This is how He wants it to be.