Temptation and Self-Control
The human body uses glucose as fuel for the brain and power for the muscles. Researchers have found when blood sugar gets low our self-control breaks down. The social psychologist Roy Baumeister says in addition to the brain and the muscles, the immune system takes a lot of energy to fight colds which makes our decisions worse, lessens our self-control, it is harder to resist temptation and easier to say something unkind. Jesus went into the desert to be tempted and after 40 days and 40 nights of fasting he was tempted, but Jesus refused every temptation. I wonder what Jesus blood sugar levels were like? We will never know. We need to take new science seriously. We all instinctively know that we can have used all our energy for decisions during the work day and come home with that energy depleted. These findings might help us manage our God-given bodies in a better way. But we always need to compare science with scripture, for Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Invite someone to take a closer look at Christ and his church.