It bears repeating: If something looks or sounds too good to be true, it probably is exactly that - too good to be true. Or maybe it's a matter of being too bad for you.

I don't know what tempts you. Maybe it's some get-rich-quick scheme you've read about in a magazine. Maybe it's sex. Or power. Or prestige. Maybe it's all of those things.

Our lives are full of "opportunities" that, in truth, are inopportune for us. But how do we tell the difference between those challenges that are good for our character and those that will ensnare us? It's not always clear-cut. And it's almost never easy.

God has some guidelines and some comforting works for us as we face the temptations of our lives. You can read about it in 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 and James 1:12-16. Although sometimes we may feel overwhelmed by our desires to have that which would ought not have, it is reassuring to remember that God promises us the strength to handle these challenges to our character and our conscience.

At the least, it gives us the courage to pray the familiar petition: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."