Tuesday, March 18

Seldom do I remember a movie for more than a few months after I watch it, but about ten years ago I watched a movie in which there’s a scene that I probably will never forget. The Movie is called, ‘The Cinderella Man’. It’s a story based on the life of James Braddock, an up and coming light heavyweight contender, who is forced to give up boxing after breaking his hand in a boxing match. The Story takes place in the early 1930’s smack in the middle of the Great Depression. James Braddock like so many other millions of Americans had lost it all and struggled to find work. Things got so bad that most days he was not able to put adequate food on the table to feed his wife and three young children. One day after spending hours looking for work James returns home to discover that his son Jay had stolen a roll of salami from the local butcher shop. James became upset and told his son to grab the salami as he escorted him back to the butcher shop where he made him return it. After returning the salami Jay explains to his father the reason why he had taken the salami. He told his dad that one of his friends was taken from his parents and shipped out to another state because his parents did not have enough money to feed him. At this moment James bows down to look his son right in the eyes, and with a firm but gentle and loving voice he says to his son: ‘You’re right things aint easy, but just cause things aint easy it doesn’t give you the excuse to take what is not yours ‘cause that is stealing. No matter what happens we don’t steal, not ever’.

In today’s scripture reading we find Jesus coming out of a forty day fast and the Bible tells us that He was hungry. And along comes the devil and tempts Jesus by telling him, if you’re the Son of God, transform these rocks into bread. The temptation was to do something that in and of itself was not bad. There is nothing wrong with taking care of your needs. On the contrary that’s being responsible. The problem is that the devil is an expert at making us shift our priorities by tempting us to put what is important, our needs, above what is most important, God. That is why Jesus’ response to the devil was bread is a need but there is something more important than bread, God. You see it was Jesus himself in the Sermon of The Mount who said that we should not worry about where we live, what we wear or what we eat. He said we should seek God first and trust Him to handle our needs. So how could Jesus now allow the devil to tempt him into to placing His need above God?

Jesus was not teaching irresponsible living. What he was teaching us is that God should always be our most important priority. We live in a culture that prioritizes needs above principles and values. Today we attend churches that prioritize needs above principles and values. And the temptation for each one of us is real, the temptation to place our needs above God, our work above God, to place business above God. And we say things like, God understands why I didn’t: attend church, have time to serve, have time to pray, have time to read my Bible etc. etc. We’re tempted and fall for the same old trick time after time. Not the temptation to do something bad but rather the temptation to shift our priorities to take something important, our needs and prioritize them above what is most important, God. I’ll close by borrowing a line from James Braddock, just because things aint easy it doesn’t give us the excuse to prioritize anything above God.

Bible reading
Luke 4:1-4 NIV

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.

Heavenly Father we live in a world where the priorities are governed by our needs and wants. And like most other people I have needs and wants too. Help me understand that when things are difficult that doesn’t give me the excuse to prioritize anything above you.