On Temptation

From The Magician's Nephew in the Chronicles of Narnia:

Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger,
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.

"No Fear!" said Polly. "We don't want any danger."
"Oh, but don't you see it's no good?" said Digory. "We can't get out of it now. We shall always be wondering what else would have happened if we had struck the bell. I'm not going home to be driven mad by always thinking of that. No fear!"
"Don't be so silly," said Polly. "As if anyone would! What does it matter what would have happened?"
"I expect anyone who's come as far as this is bound to go on wondering till it sends him dotty. That's the Magic of it, you see. I can feel it beginning to work on me already."

Digory goes on to ring the bell, and lives to regret it. Later he discusses with Aslan how this woke up the Witch:

"She woke up," said Digory wretchedly. And then, turning very white, "I mean, I woke her. Because I wanted to know what would happen if I struck a bell. Polly didn't want to. It wasn't her fault. I - I fought her. I know I shouldn't have. I think I was a bit enchanted by the writing under the bell."
"Do you?" asked Aslan; still speaking very low and deep.
"No," said Digory. "I see now I wasn't. I was only pretending."

You see, temptation is like that. I believe that temptation by itself is very weak. Weaker perhaps than even those inklings of the Holy Ghost that we feel from time to time. So why do they feel so strong to us? Because they entice our carnal natures. Satan is weak, our bodies are strong. If Satan can convince us that He is the one overpowering us, all the while fooling us into overpowering ourselves, then he has won. We will cave under the temptation and say we were overpowered--that the temptation was too strong.

If only we would see his lie for the simple hoax it is. Take control of yourself! When those initial inklings from the adversary come, immediately control your own body and dismiss the invitation to do evil. Don't let the mild inclination to do evil convince you that you have no choice. The choice to shun evil is easier than you think if you keep it at bay rather than entertain it. I think you will find temptation really is a very weak force and see it for the lie it is.