Trying not to give in to temptation

I’ve heard it said in church that temptation is not a sin. It only becomes sin when one succumbs to said temptation. There exist in the Stroupe household a number of temptations. In the food department, a Stroupe can find him or herself led to unhealthy amounts of chocolate (thanks to leftover stocking stuffers at Christmas time) and other sweet items such as ice cream sandwiches, Nutty Buddies, and sugar sweet cereal. Of course we are thankful to have such choices, but overdoing it has its price. The temptations don’t stop there. Four televisions and two computers beg us to overuse them. And the Wii and Playstation II vie for their share of valuable time. In addition, we’re tempted not to answer the telephone due to constant invasions by telemarketers, despite our being on the no-call list. Of course most everyone has caller ID now, but few are willing to admit it. I guess they’re worried people might think they’re not picking up on purpose. It’s called screening, and no one will admit to it. But perhaps the greatest temptation in the Stroupe house is one likely to remain unique to us. It involves our microwave, which came with the new house we moved into six and a half years ago. I don’t know how long microwaves are supposed to last, but I do know the one in the Stroupe house is on its last leg. The clock on our microwave goes blank three or four times per week. And at least once a week, the microwave ceases to function entirely, requiring a Stroupe to visit the fuse box and trip the fuse switch back and forth from the “On” to the “Off” to the “On” position. For whatever reason, it starts working again if you hold your tongue just right while you’re flipping the switch. The temptation part is the “Surface Light” button located right next to the “Vent Fan” button on the bottom row of microwave function buttons. Beginning about two months ago, when that button was pressed, the result was a loud popping sound followed immediately by a flying spark. In our infinite wisdom, my wife and I called upon the services of a green Sharpie and drew a big X over the button and wrote the words “Don’t Press” directly underneath it. We’d have been better off had we left it alone. The temptation to touch the “Don’t Press” button drove each of our three boys to the brink of insanity. Finally, in a moment of desperation, we allowed our two youngest sons to press the button just so they would witness the result and forever possess a fear of pressing buttons. This worked well. Our oldest son announced one night that he had pressed the button earlier that day when he was home alone. When asked why, he proudly stated, “Because it said ‘Don’t Press’ and I’ve always been one to take chances.” Comforting. Now that he’s driving, how might he handle the “Bridge Out Ahead” sign? By the way, we are planning to replace the malfunctioning microwave soon. In the meantime, the Sharpie green letters remain. If I tried to wipe them off, it might start a fire. Plus a Sharpie is permanent anyway- just like temptation, which constantly stares us all right in the face.