FALLING OVER

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. - 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

"And God is faithful....stand up under it" is quoted a lot of times, especially when someone's talking about temptation and standing up against it.  But I think I like the focus of verse 12 more: "So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" It doesn't just talk about giving in to temptation but it makes it clear that we should never consider ourselves above temptation.  I think there's a message of 'pride before fall' in there; there are times when I feel like I'm really okay with God and everything is going well in my spiritual life and don't think I need Him anymore, and then I will slip and continue falling until I get back to my rut.

It is comforting to know that God will never let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, but it's also important to know that Satan definitely wants us to be tempted and will do anything to make us fall.  The verses before verse 12 explain that those who give in to temptation constantly will be subject to bad consequences e.g. "we should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did - and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died." (v. 8)

In the words of Alfred Pennyworth, aka Michael Caine from Batman Begins, "Why do we fall, sir? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up." We need to remember that when we fall, we should try and get up as soon as possible, otherwise the slope becomes steeper and harder to climb up again.