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SO DA FOUNTAIN Odyssey archive · est. 2026
Episodes 0621A New Era, Pt. 3 0623Buddy Guard
0622 6 Oct 2007

B-TV: Temptation

When B-TV explores why smart people fall for bad choices, the story of history's wisest king shows that wisdom alone is no shield against temptation.
Bryan Dern has hijacked the B-TV cameras again, and Connie and Bernard boot him out of the host's chair just in time to tackle a big subject: temptation. Bernard tells of King Solomon, who asks God for wisdom and becomes the wisest man alive... yet marries hundreds of foreign wives, builds temples to their gods, and finally worships idols himself - losing the kingdom for his family. Connie spins a tale of a girl whose garden sprouts a talking heckleberry bush; her father warned her it was poisonous, but she lets it sweet-talk her into keeping it until it takes over the whole garden and makes her sick. Chopping it down alone only earns her a fistful of thorns, and the huge bush doesn't come under control until she asks her father to help her fence it in. Along the way, a chirpy ad pitches Sodom and Gomorrah as a dream vacation spot, and a movie preview shows Joseph doing the one smart thing - running. Temptation never goes away for good, Connie and Bernard conclude, but God always gives a way out... which is handy, because Bryan Dern is already grabbing for the cameras again.
Found on The Sky's the Limit Album 49 · 12 episodes

The run

See every episode
1 of 3 0616 The Other Side of the Glass A mysterious hidden symbol - Power Boy's secret call for help - starts appearing in brand-new windows all over town, and Bernard, Wooton, and the Whit's End crew set out to discover who put it there and why.
2 of 3 0617 The Other Side of the Glass A hidden cry for help etched in glass pulls Bernard, Wooton, and Whit into a late-night investigation of the powerful Seawright factory.
3 of 3 0618 The Other Side of the Glass A midnight stakeout at a secretive factory forces Wooton and his friends to decide whether trusting a mysterious boy's cry for help is worth risking the livelihoods of an entire neighborhood.
1 of 3 0619 A New Era With his long ordeal finally behind him, Eugene's father settles into a peaceful new life in Odyssey - until a hidden illness and an urgent plea from a distant village upend everything.
2 of 3 0620 A New Era As Eugene recovers from donating a kidney to his father, he and Katrina wrestle with whether a plea from Africa is God's call or a distraction from the ministry they already love.
3 of 3 0621 A New Era Long-buried family secrets come to light as Leonard finally faces the truth about his past, and an urgent crisis abroad demands a decision no one expected.
0622 B-TV: Temptation When B-TV explores why smart people fall for bad choices, the story of history's wisest king shows that wisdom alone is no shield against temptation.
0623 Buddy Guard When Grady hires a bodyguard to stop a park bully and a radio host discovers his on-air complaints can strong-arm people into paying up, both learn how quickly protection turns into power.
0624 Wooing Wooton When Wooton's estranged father suddenly invites him back into the family fold, meeting a woman who shares his quirky passions forces him to weigh what he wants most against what he believes.
0625 Something Significant When Trent balks at being assigned to set up chairs instead of acting in a church play, Whit sends him on an Imagination Station journey to discover what makes a task truly important.
1 of 2 0626 Life, in the Third Person Feeling invisible in her fractured family, Mandy tries to outrun her parents' separation on her bicycle - but some things can't be escaped.
2 of 2 0627 Life, in the Third Person While a broken leg lands Mandy in the hospital, her fractured family is forced to stop hiding from the hard conversations they've been avoiding.
1 of 2 0628 The Highest Stakes After six months away, a father returns to Odyssey believing his debts are paid and hoping to win back the family his gambling destroyed.

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The story 2 min read

Bryan Dern cannot resist sneaking into the B-TV studio and turning its cameras on himself. Connie and Bernard remove him from the host's chair and use his interruption to introduce temptation: the pull toward something God does not want a person to do. Feeling tempted is not itself a sin, they explain, but choosing to welcome temptation can let it grow.

Bernard tells how Solomon begins his reign by asking God for wisdom rather than wealth or power. God grants his request and also gives him riches and honor. Solomon becomes famous for wise judgments and sayings, but God warns him to remain faithful and not serve other gods.

Connie's story follows a girl who discovers a beautiful heckleberry bush in her garden. Her father has warned her that it is poisonous, but the talking plant persuades her to postpone digging it up. As she continues listening to its promises, the little bush spreads across the garden. Its flowers finally make her sick, just as her father said they would.

Solomon likewise allows temptation to stay close. Although God has commanded his people not to marry worshipers of other gods, Solomon takes hundreds of wives from foreign nations. He thinks his wisdom makes him safe from their influence. Wanting to please them, he first permits their worship, then builds temples for their gods, and finally joins in that worship himself.

Other B-TV features expose the way temptation hides danger. A cheerful advertisement makes Sodom and Gomorrah sound like a perfect vacation despite the cities' wickedness. A movie preview shows Joseph escaping Potiphar's wife by running from her invitation to sin. The examples contrast disguising evil, remaining near it, and fleeing from it.

God tells Solomon that his unfaithfulness will cost his family the kingdom. Bernard explains that Solomon did not abandon God in one sudden decision. Small compromises made larger ones easier until a man famous for wisdom practiced the very evil he once believed he could resist.

In Connie's conclusion, the girl tries to chop down and uproot the enormous bush by herself. Its thorns injure her, and its roots have grown too deep for her strength. When she finally asks her father for help, they build a sturdy fence around it. She must maintain the barrier so the plant cannot spread again.

Connie and Bernard conclude that temptation cannot be removed entirely from life, but God always provides help and a way to endure it. Bryan Dern promptly tries to seize the cameras for another complaint, proving that resistance may have to begin again the very next moment.