We tend to think of giving in to temptation as an action we perform—the default is that we do nothing; the action is that we give in. But this is incorrect. When we feel tempted, the mechanism is already in place; the force is already acting upon us. When we give in to temptation, we are no more performing an action than a stone performs an action by falling when the ground gives way beneath it. By giving in to temptation, we exercise no more power of choice than does the falling stone.

Giving in to temptation is the actual default—in doing so we merely submit and are slaves. Resisting temptation is the real action—it is how we exercise our power of choice, how we break our shackles and become truly free.