Lead me not into temptation…

"Lead me not into temptation because I can find it myself."

That’s a line I often use to distance myself from very enticing propositions or when I find the need to remind people that their situation could put them in compromise if not grief.

At the moment the biggest temptation offered to many young men and women is to run for public office. So many of the young actors and actresses are now being lured into minor local government positions.

Of course other known celebrities in media, sports and business are being encouraged, enticed, or misguided into entering the world of politics.

Misguided because for many it comes like a choice at a fastfood outlet or a simple matter of pouring hot water into a cup of instant noodles. Not a lot of thought, just an appetite. No mentoring, no preparation, just go through the "Drive Thru" and pay.

If you’re lucky you get what you came for, and if not, you wasted time, you wasted money and you go away with a bad taste in your mouth.

The same goes for business and careers. A lot of people are tempted into deals or businesses because of the profit promise or for lack of something more popular or bigger.

In the face of all of this we PRAY.

Whatever your faith may be, it’s quite common whether real or ritualistic, for people to pray to God for a sign or some confirmation that we’re doing the right thing.

So why is it that people end up losing an election or losing their soul after winning the election? If you were so certain about your decision, why are you now miserable or broke? I prayed, didn’t I? How come I now have to pray for God to save me or bail me out?

My mythical friend Gus asked the same question. Gus is not real but the story is true.

Gus and his wife have always been God fearing, prayerful people. They had a great family that spent a lot of time together. Gus and his wife had all the time for each other.

What they wanted was their own business. A place they could be together and on their own. So after much prayer they got a fast food franchise. They enjoyed the challenge, made new friends, as well as having a place for the family to work and hangout together.

All went well and they always told friends that "it was an answered prayer."

Soon the family got the hang of running the business. And since it was such a great deal, Gus convinced his wife that they should put up a second outlet. They prayed, they did the 2nd outlet and that went well.

Then someone suggested that they put up a third outlet in another commercial area. Business was booming and because he knew the business, it didn’t take much to convince Gus.

He could work on the new outlet on the other side of town while his wife and the kids could keep things going in their original outlets. Gus made adjustments on his schedule and left earlier and came home later. But since the new outlet was turning in a profit, he was certain God was blessing him.

Soon investors wanted to join in and so Gus did a merger. They put up a fourth outlet and then a fifth one. Gus felt like a mini magnate. He had five fastfood outlets under his belt and he didn’t even have to put up the money for the last two.

His partners treated him like a Prince, they played a lot of golf, he got himself a new car, and he was no longer just a one store "Tindero", he now had a chain of stores.

Of course the quantity time with his wife and kids was modified into Quality time. He no longer had personal time. And since lots of families flock to fastfood stores on Sundays he no longer went to Sunday service regularly, he no longer read his Bible. He no longer had time to pray.

Actually if you observed, he stopped praying after store No. 2.

In store No.4, he was a partner. In No. 5 he became a manager. Both stores bombed and became financial disasters. The merger and resulting losses ate up into the third store. It didn’t take long for Gus to realize he was now just an employee, that he was broke, and unhappy. Soon he was questioning God.

I explained to Gus that he got an answer to his prayers twice. On stores 3, 4, and 5 he didn’t ask, he didn’t pray. No question, No answer.

When he started out Gus wanted to follow God’s purpose and God’s will. That’s why everything worked out well for family and business.

By store number 3 Gus was just doing what he willed. With 4 and 5 he was doing other people’s will. The whole thing no longer worked for God or for family.

Whether you’re praying about running in this election or putting up a business, be sure IF you’re asking God; what He wants? What His will is? Or are you imposing your will on God?

When you ask for a sign, it normally means you have processed the options and just want a confirmation or a guarantee. If God was just your cosmic consultant or on retainer at your family corporation, I’m sure that would just be fine. But he’s not.

Experience has taught many men of wisdom that the road to one’s destiny is not like a national highway full of signs. Destiny does not tell you where to turn left or right, where to stop, or where to rest.

Destiny is where you hope to be or where you are. Anywhere in between is still part of the journey.

Long before we learned to read road signs, we memorized landscapes, we were accompanied by people who loved us and people we loved and trusted. They knew the direction because they’ve been there.

Once in a while even they would take a wrong turn or would be unsure of where to go next. Remember how they would either check the map or simply roll down the window and ask for directions?

When you ask God…you ask at the Beginning, not the end.