The Evil Inclination Disguises Itself as Good: How Not to Be Misled?

Lior asks: "How can I differentiate between the good inclination and the evil inclination? Sometimes I want to grow stronger, but end up falling, or I fall and then feel ashamed to pray. I don't know when what I feel and think comes from the good inclination, and when it comes from the evil inclination trying to deceive. I would appreciate some advice."

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Hello Lior.

The best recommended solution is to approach a Rabbi who can understand you, and present your dilemmas to him, "And in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14). But even if you haven’t found your Rabbi yet, you can use sacred books to know how to distinguish between the good inclination and the evil inclination. The answer, as always, lies in our holy Torah. Ethical books offer two main ways to check which inclination is speaking to us and to distinguish with our own strength when the evil inclination disguises itself as the good:

1) The best way to check which inclination is speaking to us is the test of the outcome:

This is a very simple self-examination - if you see that your thoughts lead you away from Hashem, away from the Torah and away from the mitzvot, you can know for sure that they come from the evil inclination. For example, if after a sin you are ashamed to pray and perform mitzvot, feel unworthy of living, etc., you can be certain that these thoughts come from the evil inclination trying to lead you to apostasy. About this, the sages said (Yoma 29b): "Transgression thoughts are worse than the transgression itself," because the sin happened and ended, but the thoughts continue on and on, distancing you from Hashem. On the other hand, if you see that your thoughts cause you to strengthen in observing mitzvot, pray more intently - and not because you are stressed or sad - this is a sign that the good inclination has spoken to you and gave you sound advice. The test is in the result. This is how you can distinguish between thoughts stemming from the good inclination and those from the evil inclination, examine yourself, what does this thought cause you, to distance from Hashem or to draw closer and strengthen.

2) The second way to know where the thought comes from is to examine how much it demands from you according to your abilities:

The evil inclination will demand perfection, knowing that in this world there is no perfection, but only gradual ascent and success relative to what you were before (look at yourself three years ago compared to today, and ask yourself, are you a better person than you were, wiser, learning more, helping more, being more observant of mitzvot, and that is the real test). The evil inclination will demand perfection from you and will make you think that you can achieve impossible perfection, dragging you into sadness and stress, because that is its cunning way to defeat you. In that scenario, the evil inclination has achieved its goal, more than dropping you into a hundred transgressions, it manages to discourage you from the entire Torah, causing you to disconnect from Hashem and not just distance for a while.

The evil inclination offers the impossible, but the wisdom of the good inclination is true wisdom, and therefore it will not propose drastic and extreme offers immediately, the true wise approaches to fight and conquer only territories that can be certainly conquered, that are easy to conquer, he conquers piece by piece, and does not try to conquer the whole world at once. The good inclination will suggest that you strengthen a little, find ways to sin less, and rejoice in every achievement. Here lies another very evident difference between the advice of the evil inclination and that of the good inclination, in the way each of them directs you. Take, for instance, the prohibition of slander, or any other transgression. The evil inclination might say: "Enough, up to here! You must start taking on a speech fast, fasting for past sins, afflicting yourself, and living in terror like a servant before his master, only then will you guard your tongue 24/7." This is a sure recipe for failure for any young man, and it will only lead to breaking all the barriers in the future. In contrast, the good inclination will suggest: "Take upon yourself something easy that you will surely stand by, for a month learn two laws of speech after prayer. That's all. You will certainly be able to stand by it, and it will surely help you strengthen in guarding your tongue."

The evil inclination thinks only of the present and therefore will tell you "Be a complete righteous person now!", while the good inclination thinks of the future and offers you logical and safe progress. May it be His will that Hashem guides you on the right path and that you succeed.