When hiking the trails above our town, I will occasionally see something left behind. It could be a single glove, a jacket, or a pair of sunglasses placed in an obvious place for the owner to find. Fellow hikers place these items in a conspicuous place for the original owner to discover. 

Some of the articles left behind have value. It can be tempting to pick up a lost article and move on, thinking either “If it was valuable to the owner, they should have taken better care of it” or “No one will see me. It’s mine!” Those kinds of responses should never motivate our actions.

These articles are placed on a bench or a rock for the original owner to discover, not for some passerby to take without considering the consequences of their action.

There are some things we should never pick up, like an inflated pride that will lead us down a treacherous path of self-will. A married person should never pick up a temptation that could destroy their marriage. A leader in the Church should never resort to manipulation to create a reputation that is more than God intended. A prophet should only broadcast what the Lord has said. Prophetic words were never intended to be a daily occurrence that would compromise a prophet’s integrity, leading others to think receiving a daily prophetic message is routine. The list of things we should pass by and not pick up would include many other things we should leave behind and move on from.

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure” (I Corinthians 10:13).

Enduring the temptation to pick up something that does not belong to a follower of Christ will, with God’s help, enable us to walk past it without taking the bait.

There is a blessing for those who walk by a temptation and do not pick it up: “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).