lead us not into temptation

So I am often asked, "Is temptation a sin." There is a clear cut answer to this, yes and no. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so clear cut but let's investigate this and see what we come up with. Temptation is not a sin, but what we do with it is, let me explain.
First, I say no simply because of the fact that we all know that Satan tempted Jesus. In a face to face altercation Satan tempted Jesus to try to catch Him at a weak moment. Knowing He hadn't eaten in over a month(which would be a major weak point for any human), he tempted Jesus with pride and power. Two things that everyone wants, and everyone posesses a certain amount of whether they hide it well or not. So if Jesus was tempted by Satan, and we know for a fact that He never sinned, is temptation a sin? No it isn't and can't be based on that angle.
But, and I do mean but! We have to investigate it a little further to fully understand the brevity of it all. If we look at James chapter 1 we see a totally different picture. If you weighed this question out based simply on this set of verses you may be tempted(yes I used the word here) to say that temptation is a sin. But look closely at what it says:
13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
So first of all temptation has nothing to do with God at all. He can't tempt nor can He tempt anyone. We are tempted when we are dragged away and enticed.
So a man is walking down the street when he spots a beautiful woman walking by maybe dressed somewhat provokatively(I know I couldn't figure out how to spell it). He notices her and takes a closer look as she approaches, he scans her outfit and looks deeply into her eyes as she passes. He thinks to himself what a beautiful woman, I wish I could get to know her, spend time with her(I know some think much worse) or you fill in the blanks. When did that become sin? When did it truly get out of hand? When he took a closer look. If he had walked by noticed a beautiful woman and paid attention to where he was going and not taken another look, or put any more thought into it all there was, was temptation. (and no I'm not blaming our stupidity as men on women at all).
Verse 15 says that "after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin" and that is where our problems begin. We see something going on and it looks tempting, but we clear our mind and don't give it another thought, that is simply temptation.
So when we pray lead us not into temptation we are in reality asking God to help us control our thoughts. I like to start my morning off be praying in a way that I commit to God that I am going to attempt in every way to control my thoughts that upcoming day, so that I can better control my actions. Because we all know that it starts with a thought and then it goes on from there and all sin is based on our own pride. We want something that isn't meant for us and we go for it to meet our own selfish wants and desires pushing God to the back of our minds as we do it.
So let God help you control your thoughts, notice the tempting things, but don't give them any thought at all and you'll be just fine. No, temptation is not a sin, but what we do when we are tempted is where it can become one.