Niacinamide and Glucuronolactone

Below is a description of two beverages. Read the paragraph that describes each and decide which one you would prefer to drink.

Drink #1: “Tear into a can of the meanest energy supplement on the planet . . . We went down to the lab and cooked up a double shot of our killer energy brew. It’s a wicked mega hit that delivers twice the buzz of a regular energy drink. [It] packs a vicious punch but has a smooth flavor you can really pound down. Unleash the Beast!”

Drink #2: “Carbonated water, glucose, citric acid, natural flavors, taurine, sodium citrate, color added, panax ginseng root extract, l-carnitine, caffeine, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, sodium chloride, glucuronolactone, inositol, guarana seed extract, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sucralose, riboflavin, maltodextrin, cyanocobalamin

If you’re like me, drink #1 sounds a hundred times better than drink #2. Who wouldn’t want to down some tasty killer energy brew that keeps you going hour after hour?

Drink #2 doesn’t sound like something that would be that good to swallow. What is niacinamide, glucuronolactone, and pyridoxine hydrochloride, anyway? These ingredients look more like a chemistry experiment than a drink!

The interesting thing is that drink #1 and drink #2 actually are the exact same beverage (Monster Energy Drink) described in different ways. The makers of Monster know that no one would buy something that sounds like drink #2, so they hired a talented person to write the first paragraph so that Monster sounds more appealing. But what does this description of energy drinks have to do with the Bible?

The point is that temptation comes in various colors, shapes, and sizes, but the devil seeks to present it in such a way that it looks cool. (Do young people still use the word “cool”? I hope that you do, or I’m really going to show how old I’m getting!).

Think of the Venus Flytrap. The plant has leaves that smell sweet to an insect, but when a bug lands on them hoping to get a free lunch, the leaves close around it. Then the Venus Flytrap slowly eats the insect over many days. So instead of getting lunch, the bug becomes lunch!

Similarly, temptation always looks like a good and harmless thing, but it is dangerous. This is the reason why God has so many rules in the Bible. God did not create commandments because He loves commandments, but because He loves us. He wants to protect us from things that will cause harm, so He warns us about them in Scripture.

In the Book of Daniel, Daniel and his three friends were tempted. When they were dragged 500 miles away from their homeland to Babylon, they faced a crisis. They were required to eat the king’s food as well as to drink his drink (Daniel 1:8). This problem doesn’t sound like a very important issue, but consider this.

The problem with eating from the king’s table is twofold: 1) God prohibited the Jews from eating certain foods, and 2) The king’s food had been sacrificed to false gods. Daniel understood that there is only one God who exists, and he refused to worship an idol or even to associate himself with it. For this reason, Daniel and his friends determined to obey God. They chose to eat vegetables and drink water instead, yet at the end of a ten day testing period, they were healthier than those who had eaten the king’s food (Daniel 1:15).

You probably will not be tempted with food (unless you like to eat too much like me), but you will be tempted. Each of us have our weakness, and the problem is that Satan knows our weaknesses as well. Here are some helpful verses to remember when temptation strikes:

1. Jesus is our example of how to resist temptation. He knew Scripture!

⁸Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" ¹¹Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. (Matthew 4:8-11)

2. Be on the lookout for temptation and pray

"Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41)

3. We should flee from temptation

Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  (2 Timothy 2:22)

4. We do not have to say “yes” to temptation

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

5. The Lord knows how to deliver us

. . . the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation . . . . (2 Peter 2:9)

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)