Deliver Us From Temptation: 3 Dangers of Christmas Break

This is an edited transcript from a youth sermon excerpt. Watch the excerpt. Watch the sermon.

Be careful of Christmas break. There are some dangers that are going to approach you with 2-3 weeks of Christmas break. That’s a lot of time at home. That’s a lot of time to be bored. That’s a lot of time to be idle. You have been going 500 miles per hour the last couple of weeks, and all of sudden you’re going to have so much time on your hands. That’s going to be dangerous and the Devil will want to capitalize on that.

Here are three dangers that can happen over Christmas break.

1. Laziness

You have been working hard. It’s not wrong to take a break. It’s not wrong to play video games, watch a movie, sleep in, read a book for fun, or just do nothing. But there’s a limit to that. You should not live a slothful lifestyle. You shouldn’t be binging on anime all day. You shouldn’t be waking up at 2:00 P. M., going to the fridge, microwaving some food, going back to your room, shutting yourself in, playing video games all day and just ignoring everyone else in your life. That’s not the way Christ has called us to be. It can be so easy to just lie in bed and scroll on your phone, just mindlessly thinking and checking your social media feed. Before you know it, it’s been 2 hours, and you’re watching a YouTube video on wild animals in Africa or something like that.

Be careful of how you use your time. You were made for more. Take a break but don’t go crazy. Don’t go overboard. Spend time with your family. Recommit your life to God. Get back on track with devotions. Take a walk around the neighborhood. Do something to serve other people. Be careful of laziness on Christmas break. Pray that God would deliver you from temptation.

2. Lust

With all of the free time, you may be tempted to give in and take pleasure in things you shouldn't be looking at — like lustful images in videos. It was reported that when COVID first hit, with everyone back at home, pornography spiked in usage because people didn’t know what to do. They were bored and they had to find something to get themselves out of their boredom. And so you might find yourself alone at night, you might find yourself up at 4:00 A. M. You might find yourself isolated in your own room away from your family because your house is big. And you might be tempted to go to lust, to find pleasure in these images or videos.

And I want to warn you: that’s going to come for you. The temptation is always present, but with Christmas break, don’t be surprised if the temptation amplifies tenfold. You need to ask God to deliver you from temptation.

3. Loneliness

Let me be clear: loneliness is not necessarily a sin. It is the result of living in a fallen world. It’s a result of living in a broken and sinful world. So being lonely is not necessarily a sin, but my question is: How do you cope with your loneliness? Do you just eat or snack all day to make yourself feel better? Do you get envious of other people who have better lives on social media and you look down on them? Or do you spiral out of control in your own mind? How will you deal with loneliness?

Be prepared for that on Christmas break, when all of a sudden, you don’t have a lot of homework. You’re going to have a lot of time. Be careful when loneliness sets in. Reach out to a friend. FaceTime somebody. Pray to God. Drink deeply from His Word. And ask God, ultimately, to deliver you from this situation where you might be tempted to sin in order to self-medicate your loneliness. Pray that God will lead you out of temptation.