In saying that temptation’s power lies in the impression it makes on us, I’m referring to the very moment of temptation, when we recognize and feel its luring appeal. But deceitful impressions only have a luring appeal to the degree that we already have a vulnerable disposition to a sinful desire.

The power of temptation lies in the impression it makes on us.

This statement is true in two senses. One, the power of temptation resides in the impression it makes on us. And two, the power of temptation deceives in the impression it makes on us.

In saying that temptation’s power lies in the impression it makes on us, I’m referring to the very moment of temptation, when we recognize and feel its luring appeal. But deceitful impressions only have a luring appeal to the degree that we already have a vulnerable disposition to a sinful desire:

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:14–15)

The devil can’t make us sin; he can only appeal to our propensity to desire sinful things. So in a moment of temptation we are fighting on two fronts: we need to “resist the devil” (James 4:7), and we need to resist our desires. This is why the way of escape from temptation to sin often is to employ a healthy dose of realism and truth-in-advertising to it — not accepting the tempting impression at face value. In our fight, then, truthful clarity is premium.

Diabolical Impressionist

The devil is not an artist but a vandal. He doesn’t create; he distorts, disfigures, and defaces what God makes. But if satanic temptation were to be an artform, we might call it some twisted sort of Impressionism.

In painting, Impressionism is an approach where an artist’s goal isn’t to portray his objects as realistically as possible, but rather to use color, lighting, and typically less defined lines in order to evoke certain visual and emotional sensations — impressions — in a viewer. Think Claude Monet’s Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies or Woman with a Parasol. It can be a powerful and beautiful style.

But when applied to temptation, diabolical “Impressionism” becomes powerful and terrible. The devil doesn’t employ realism when painting a temptation “because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). His goal is to use the spiritual equivalents of color, lighting, and less defined lines to evoke certain sinful emotional sensations. The power is in the momentary emotional impression it makes on the “viewer.” The devil doesn’t want us to see the real thing; he just wants us to experience a rather vague impression that yielding to the temptation will bring happiness.

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