0:00:05 > 0:00:08Oscar Wilde famously said,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11"I can resist everything except temptation."
0:00:11 > 0:00:14and looking at these you can rather see what he meant.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16But Wednesday is the start of Lent
0:00:16 > 0:00:19and it's a time when many of us think about resisting temptation
0:00:19 > 0:00:22and giving up things we love.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24So I've only got a few days left!
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Um, chocolate flapjack, please.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Tonight we hear the personal stories
0:00:29 > 0:00:32of three people for whom some of the more
0:00:32 > 0:00:34serious temptations of our modern world
0:00:34 > 0:00:37proved too powerful to resist.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39And there are hymns for Lent
0:00:39 > 0:00:42from St George's Church, Gravesend in Kent.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58When I think of temptation, I automatically think of food.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02The last thing that tempted me recently was a woman.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Mostly money, actually. Mostly money.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09A bag of five donuts.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Disappearing all at one sitting.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I go on my Xbox way too much.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20There's nothing quite so tempting as being tempted by chocolate.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24We can't escape temptation, obviously,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26it's part of being human,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29and it usually takes on a lot more subtle forms
0:01:29 > 0:01:31than a cake or even a diamond ring.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34It's what we do about it that matters.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36There's a very powerful story in the Bible
0:01:36 > 0:01:39about Jesus spending 40 days and 40 nights
0:01:39 > 0:01:41in the wilderness being tempted.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43That's what our first hymn is about.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45And it's sung by the congregation
0:01:45 > 0:01:48gathered at St George's church in Gravesend.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit
0:04:03 > 0:04:05"into a wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09"After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13"The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17"'tell these stones to become bread.'"
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25"'but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
0:04:26 > 0:04:30The verses have intrigued Bible scholars for centuries.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32So what was Jesus being tempted in the wilderness -
0:04:32 > 0:04:3440 days and 40 nights - all about?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I think that when people think of temptation,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40they think of a kind of niggling voice in their head
0:04:40 > 0:04:42that's just going round and round.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44And it's just coming from their own thoughts
0:04:44 > 0:04:46and it just needs to be ignored
0:04:46 > 0:04:49but here we see Jesus doing something quite different.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53He doesn't ignore this voice, he actually addresses it.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56"Then the devil took him to the Holy City
0:04:56 > 0:04:59"and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03"'If you are the Son of God,' He said, 'Throw yourself down.'
0:05:03 > 0:05:07"'For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10"'and they will lift you up in their hands,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14"'so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Jesus answered him, "It is also written:
0:05:18 > 0:05:21"'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
0:05:21 > 0:05:26And then we have this temptation to leap off
0:05:26 > 0:05:29from the top of the temple. What are we seeing there?
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Yes, here we're seeing this misunderstanding
0:05:33 > 0:05:35that unlimited freedom is the root to happiness.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41It's actually the reverse and if we don't live within the boundaries
0:05:41 > 0:05:42that God has set in place,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46it can be very harmful for us and in some cases devastating.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51"Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him
0:05:51 > 0:05:55"all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57"'All this I will give you,' He said, 'if you will bow down
0:05:57 > 0:05:59"'and worship me.'
0:05:59 > 0:06:01"Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan!"
0:06:01 > 0:06:05"'For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and him only.'"
0:06:06 > 0:06:10So what can we learn from this over all, would you say?
0:06:10 > 0:06:11What we see from these verses
0:06:11 > 0:06:15is that temptation itself isn't wrong
0:06:15 > 0:06:18because Jesus himself was tempted in every way
0:06:18 > 0:06:21and yet didn't do anything wrong.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It isn't wrong to actually be tempted,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27it's what you actually do with it that counts.
0:06:27 > 0:06:33# If ye love me
0:06:33 > 0:06:40# Keep my commandments
0:06:40 > 0:06:50# And I will pray the Father
0:06:50 > 0:06:53# And I will pray the Father
0:06:53 > 0:07:07# And he shall give you another comforter
0:07:07 > 0:07:27# That he may bide with you forever
0:07:27 > 0:07:40# Even the spirit of truth
0:07:40 > 0:07:51# Even the spirit of truth
0:07:51 > 0:08:01# That he may bide with you forever
0:08:01 > 0:08:11# That he may bide with you forever
0:08:11 > 0:08:23# Even the spirit of truth
0:08:23 > 0:08:42- # Even the spirit of truth.- #
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Alex Arthur dreamt of becoming a boxer from the age of ten.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55I took it upon myself to ask my friend
0:08:55 > 0:08:58if he would take me along to the local boxing club
0:08:58 > 0:09:02and then he also told me that he attended church on a Sunday
0:09:02 > 0:09:07and that they had a little football team with a huge spread afterwards.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12So I kind of found church and boxing on the same day, basically.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Alex went from amateur boxer to professional champion
0:09:15 > 0:09:18with one win after another.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22So, this is your trophy cabinet - what have we got?
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Up here, we've got the IBF International,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27the first professional belt I won,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31- and this is the World Championship. - Can I feel it?- Yeah, of course.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- It's heavy and lots of bling!- Yes!
0:09:34 > 0:09:38You need shades every time you come over to the cabinet.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44It was after winning his gold Commonwealth medal
0:09:44 > 0:09:46that Alex got a taste for fame.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51I noticed that people were acting differently towards me,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55people wanted to be around me that didn't before,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59I was being invited to so many different parties and things.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Then I started, you know,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04getting exposure on Sky TV
0:10:04 > 0:10:07and, you know, and BBC and ITV.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11I wanted that a little bit more all the time. So, after a fight,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15I'd wear all-new clothes - I wouldn't go out two days running with the same clothes on.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Then I would go off the rails a little bit again.
0:10:20 > 0:10:26What was it that was so seductive, so tempting, about fame?
0:10:26 > 0:10:31It made me feel invincible. It even started to show in my boxing.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35I just didn't believe there was anyone that could even come close
0:10:35 > 0:10:38to even giving me a tough fight.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42All I need to do is show up at the fight, hit the guy, he'll go over,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I'll get another ton of money
0:10:44 > 0:10:46and I'll go away and enjoy myself again.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50- And so what happened? - I got knocked on my backside!
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Michael Gomez beat Alex, taking away his title
0:10:56 > 0:11:00and at the same time bringing him straight back down to earth.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04I remember waking up in the hospital bed that morning, thinking,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06"I've got to change everything."
0:11:06 > 0:11:11And I had this really strong, strong feeling inside myself
0:11:11 > 0:11:15telling me, "You're doing everything wrong, Alex. You need to change."
0:11:15 > 0:11:19I can recall getting home, picking up my Bible
0:11:19 > 0:11:22and randomly opening it - and it was Psalms.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26And I remember just starting to read some scriptures
0:11:26 > 0:11:31and it was explaining to me in the scriptures how God disciplines you
0:11:31 > 0:11:35if you go on the wrong track and it's because you're His child
0:11:35 > 0:11:37and He loves you and wants the best for you.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42So he's not got a problem with basically giving you a wake-up call
0:11:42 > 0:11:44and it was just so shocking to me.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I remember just closing it and putting it down, thinking,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50"I don't know if I'm quite ready for that yet."
0:11:50 > 0:11:54What have you learned about the temptations of fame?
0:11:54 > 0:11:57I know exactly how to deal with it now.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01It's been there again, it's there all the time.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06But you just have to know how to deflect it, you know?
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Now that I know, it's a lot more easy to deal with it every day.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52'I thought I had a perfect marriage
0:14:52 > 0:14:55'but giving in to temptation actually ripped it apart.'
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Alison and Simon were married in 1974,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03after being brought together by a love of music.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05We went into our marriage
0:15:05 > 0:15:09with a firm commitment, that we thought was...for life.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13They were happily married for 15 years and had three children
0:15:13 > 0:15:17but then, Simon was tempted by another woman.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20I'd never looked elsewhere.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25It was just a surprise when I succumbed subtly to...
0:15:25 > 0:15:27someone who made me feel...
0:15:27 > 0:15:31appreciated, perhaps, in a way that was different, a bit flattering.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38I was not able to express this because, you know,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42I was the person who could cope. I was a church leader...
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and so I thought that I'd be able to handle the situation.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50But I didn't deal with it and, eventually, things went seriously wrong.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54As a result of the affair,
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Simon moved out of the family home and lived alone.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Temptation works bit by bit.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03You have a thought, it gradually turns into
0:16:03 > 0:16:06something that dwells in your mind
0:16:06 > 0:16:11and then it turns to action and, bit by bit, you get ensnared.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16I really did feel that I had turned into a pretty nasty person
0:16:16 > 0:16:18because it went contrary
0:16:18 > 0:16:22to everything that I'd promised to my wife.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26I really hit rock bottom when the, er...
0:16:26 > 0:16:30the relationship with the other person...ended
0:16:30 > 0:16:34and so I really felt I'd lost my wife, my children, my nice home,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37my reputation.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40That was my lowest ebb.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Inside, I was really, really, er... destroyed, I think.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49I think if you are down a hole,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53someone needs to kind of reach down and...
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Alison reached out to me, in a way.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00She came to see me in my bedsit flat.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04After a dark period of separation,
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Alison eventually forgave Simon and took him back.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Many people said it was not
0:17:10 > 0:17:14the right thing to do but I felt in my heart it was.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18I believe God really gave me a strength
0:17:18 > 0:17:20and it encouraged me to carry on.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25Alison and Simon are about to celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29TOGETHER: # Well, then, what's to be the reason
0:17:29 > 0:17:32# For becoming man and wife... #
0:17:32 > 0:17:36Their experience has taught them that temptation is real
0:17:36 > 0:17:39and not to be ignored.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42'I can't honestly say it won't happen again.'
0:17:42 > 0:17:44I think we have to be on our guard.
0:17:44 > 0:17:50We have to be aware and alert to the things that first, erm...
0:17:50 > 0:17:54started to invade our marriage in the first place.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57# There is no... #
0:17:57 > 0:18:01'Certainly, I've learned that temptation is...
0:18:01 > 0:18:05'powerful and can be persistent.'
0:18:05 > 0:18:09I believe sharing and talking about temptations in the future
0:18:09 > 0:18:13would be a way to avoid succumbing to them
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and receive strength from friends, our partners,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19our wives, our church,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22to help us deal with the issues that we face.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Today, Dan Head seems like anyone else you would pass on the street
0:19:49 > 0:19:53but inside he battles with the temptation that nearly killed him.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57It all started with, er...with peer pressure.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Back when I was 13,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04I...I used to hang about with...
0:20:04 > 0:20:06with guys older than me
0:20:06 > 0:20:08and really wanted to be accepted by them
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and one way to do that was to take the drugs that they were taking.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16Heroin was just another drug that, in my eyes, could be enjoyed
0:20:16 > 0:20:19and that was the temptation.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23It was almost that unknown, the forbidden fruit, if you like.
0:20:23 > 0:20:29By the time he was 17, Dan was homeless and a heroin addict.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33'It stripped me of my dignity, of my self-worth,'
0:20:33 > 0:20:37it stripped me of my family, of friends, of hopes,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41of any dreams that I had, really, and left me as a shell,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44just trying to cope with the shame and the guilt
0:20:44 > 0:20:49and the self-loathing that was inside me at that time.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53And, unfortunately, the only thing that made THAT bearable was heroin.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Heroin pushed him into a cycle of drug abuse, crime and then prison.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00But ultimately it was prison
0:21:00 > 0:21:04that led him to his first steps of recovery.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13In prison I was given an option to clean toilets or to go to church
0:21:13 > 0:21:18and the church just sounded like the better option at that point.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20When I went to church,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22I met a gentleman that played a very major part
0:21:22 > 0:21:25in showing me God could help me to change my life.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30After a long journey through rehabilitation,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Dan finally got his life back.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34He's now a counsellor at Yeldall Manor,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37where he helps other addicts to recover.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42'At this moment I'm seven years clean and I'm married.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46'I have an amazing job, helping people overcome their addiction
0:21:46 > 0:21:51'and watching them grow and leave this place.'
0:21:51 > 0:21:54And yet...
0:21:54 > 0:21:57I'm still tempted...to take heroin.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01I wish I could say I knew why.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04And I don't! I don't know why that is.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08I don't know why, erm...why it comes
0:22:08 > 0:22:11so quickly and so harshly sometimes.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15It can be at home on my own, it can be on the street,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19it can be anywhere when the urge hits.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22And the only thing that I can do is...
0:22:22 > 0:22:25is overcome that urge and keep fighting that.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32'While I focus in on God and while I'm looking to God for that
0:22:32 > 0:22:36'and drawing my strength from God...
0:22:36 > 0:22:41'I know that I'll never go back to prison, or back to taking heroin.'
0:22:41 > 0:22:45And, in that respect, God plays...
0:22:45 > 0:22:50the biggest part of all within my life and my recovery.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54# Cast your cares on Him
0:22:54 > 0:22:58# All that weigh you down
0:22:58 > 0:23:04# All that scares and fills your mind with fear
0:23:06 > 0:23:10# Cast your cares on Him
0:23:10 > 0:23:13# All you want to be
0:23:13 > 0:23:17# All you want to leave behind
0:23:17 > 0:23:23# And all you want to see
0:23:25 > 0:23:30# For He is the same
0:23:30 > 0:23:33# Yesterday, for ever
0:23:33 > 0:23:37# And He has a name
0:23:37 > 0:23:42# Strong enough to save
0:23:42 > 0:23:45# And He shares with you
0:23:45 > 0:23:48# Inheritance and blessing
0:23:48 > 0:23:52# For eternity
0:23:52 > 0:23:57# It will belong to you
0:23:58 > 0:24:01# Cast your cares on Him
0:24:01 > 0:24:06# For everyone you love
0:24:06 > 0:24:09# Draw near to His presence
0:24:09 > 0:24:13# Trust in mercy from above
0:24:13 > 0:24:16# Cast your cares on Him
0:24:16 > 0:24:20# Because He cares for you
0:24:20 > 0:24:23# Stop trying to trust yourself
0:24:23 > 0:24:29# And work out what to do
0:24:29 > 0:24:33# For He is the same
0:24:33 > 0:24:37# Yesterday, for ever
0:24:37 > 0:24:41# And He has a name
0:24:41 > 0:24:44# Strong enough to save
0:24:44 > 0:24:49# And He shares with you
0:24:49 > 0:24:52# Inheritance and blessing
0:24:52 > 0:24:56# For eternity
0:24:56 > 0:25:03# It will belong to you
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Cast your cares on Him
0:25:09 > 0:25:12# He can see ahead
0:25:13 > 0:25:16# Hold His hand so tightly
0:25:16 > 0:25:21# He'll raise your weary head
0:25:21 > 0:25:26# For He is the same
0:25:26 > 0:25:29# Yesterday, for ever
0:25:29 > 0:25:34# And He has a name
0:25:34 > 0:25:37# Strong enough to save
0:25:37 > 0:25:41# And He shares with you
0:25:41 > 0:25:44# Inheritance and blessing
0:25:44 > 0:25:49# For eternity
0:25:49 > 0:25:57# It will belong to you. #
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Lord, help us to trust in you and not in the trappings of fame.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17Bring us to a place where we are rooted in the security of your love.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Lord, give us the humility
0:26:19 > 0:26:22to recognise our weakness and vulnerability
0:26:22 > 0:26:27and the wisdom to walk away from all that we know to be wrong.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Lord, give us the strength
0:26:29 > 0:26:32to overcome all that threatens to overwhelm us
0:26:32 > 0:26:36and help us to recognise the false promises of forbidden fruits.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42May the God of love,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46who guided His son, Jesus Christ, through the desert,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49be with you in the temptation, trials and troubles of this life
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and strengthen you to persevere in following Him.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56And the blessing of God Almighty,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
0:26:59 > 0:27:02be among you and remain with you now and always.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Amen.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06- ALL:- Amen.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57- Thanks.- You're welcome.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59SHE CHUCKLES
0:29:59 > 0:30:02I don't suppose giving into the lure of a chocolate flapjack
0:30:02 > 0:30:04is terribly important in the scheme of things
0:30:04 > 0:30:09but as we've seen, temptation can be searingly difficult to resist.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12As our final hymn shows, though,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16the Christian story tells of a God who's been there himself.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28Next week, Aled takes a trip to the zoo
0:33:28 > 0:33:32to explore our love of all creatures great and small.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36He visits a school where the pupils share their playground with alpacas,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39meets a dog who's more than man's best friend
0:33:39 > 0:33:41and introduces some great hymns
0:33:41 > 0:33:44celebrating the wonderful world of animals.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd