I read in a book called The Power of the Kabbalah about temptation. The author tells a story of three men who are tempted and asks the question, “Which man grew the most from the experience of temptation?”
The first version of the story is that a rich man accidentally leaves his wallet at an open café. A poor man finds the wallet. He opens it and finds $300 along with the owners name and address. He immediately does the right thing and returns the wallet to the owner.
The second version of the story is that again the rich man accidentally leaves his wallet at an open café. Another poor man finds the wallet. He opens it and finds the $300, takes the money and leaves the wallet at the café.
The third version follows that the rich man leaves the wallet at the cafe. The third poor man finds the wallet, opens it to find the money and the owners name and address. He takes the money and leaves the wallet at the café. This time however, briefly after he walks away with the money, he feels guilty and returns the money to the wallet and returns the wallet with the money to the owner.
The first time I heard this story, I thought it must be the man who was not even tempted to take the money for himself who grew the most. However, it was the man who was tempted and then, returned the money who had the most powerful experience of overcoming temptation.
There are times in life when we will be tempted. It’s not the fact that we are tempted that decides whether a situation is evil or not. It’s what we choose to do in the end where we will experience the most growth. Temptations can make us stronger.
As always, remember your passion.
Blessings, Maren Nelson
