Wednesday November 15, 2016

 

Temptations are nothing new; they have been around since the beginning of time. What is tempting to you may not be tempting to me and what is tempting to me may not be tempting to you. Having said this, despite the fact that temptations differ from one person to another, there are a couple of things that are common to all temptations. Firstly, all temptations stem from within. Secondly, misleading information, falsehoods, and/or lies fuels all temptations. The best way to overcome any temptation is to identify the deceit then replace it with a specific and corresponding truth. As we read the temptation that Jesus was subjected to, we can observe that this is precisely the process that He modeled for us.

 

Matthew 4:5-6 NIV

 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

 

This is the lie that fueled the temptation in the passage we just read: “if you are the Son of God, then prove it; after all the Bible says God will send His angels to rescue you”.

 

The lie behind the temptation: Jesus you need to prove yourself.

Jesus, you need to establish your own identity, and you need to let everyone know who you are. Likewise, we also feel tempted to prove ourselves and to establish our own identity. When tempted, we concern ourselves with things like: the place we are going to live in, what we will wear, drive, and everything else that brings us recognition instead of reflecting God. However, it is not enough to identify the lie, we must also replace it with the specific, corresponding truth.

 

Matthew 4:7 NIV

 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

 

The specific corresponding truth: obedience to God is more important than recognition.

Yes, it is true that Jesus had the power and the ability to prove that He was the Son of God. The problem however, is that God did not give Jesus power to use for His own recognition. God gave Jesus power to bring recognition to His Heavenly Father. This is why Jesus identified the lie then replaced it with the corresponding truth. Likewise, we must identify the lie in all of our temptations and replace it with the corresponding truth. In this case and from God’s perspective, obedience is far more important than recognition.