Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:12-13, N.K.J.V.)

Back in the days of the Civil War, a smuggler asked a riverboat captain to accept an illegal shipment of cotton onto the captain’s boat. The smuggler said, “I’ll give you $300 to transport these bales.” The captain answered, “No, I don’t want to get mixed up in anything illegal.”

Undeterred, the smuggler said, “I’ll make it $1,000.” But the captain held firm in his convictions and again answered, “No.” Finally, the smuggler made his highest offer: $3,000. At that point, the captain pulled a pistol from his belt and said, “You get off my boat. You’re getting too close to my price!”

Let me point out two things about that captain. #1: He was moral enough to sincerely try to do right in a wrong world. #2: He was wise enough to know that even he was capable of yielding to temptation if the pay was too much to resist. I think we need more people like that today, people who have a lot of godly morality about them but who also realize they are still sin-tainted enough to engage in immorality if the circumstances are right.

I ask you, are you such a person? Well, if you are, have you learned how to recognize your breaking point in regards to being tempted? If you haven’t, I hope it goes without saying that you’d better learn to recognize it fast!