- Rev. Dona Johnson |March 9, 2025
Temptation and testing are universal throughout human history and no one is ever immune from temptation, testing or spiritual attacks. Throughout the Bible, we are given story after story of God’s chosen people being tempted and tested – Adam, Eve, Abraham, Joseph, Job, Daniel… An important point to note is that when the devil (an evil force that opposes the work of God) tempts us, he doesn’t appear in hoofs and horns. He appears as something desirous. He sows doubts to confuse us, distorts the truth and creates a fog in which we no longer see or differentiate God’s way from the ways of the world. As Shakespeare said, “The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape.” The serpent is described as crafty; very likely he was also beautiful, like a beautiful emerald viper, not like a hissing cobra or rattlesnake.
C.S. Lewis also reminds us the devil finds a believer’s weak point and uses it to announce a war on his or her soul. When the devil wants to attack a person’s soul the first thing, he does is create a “partition” between God and that person. The first partition is the “desires of the flesh.” They cover a broad range, not just sexual sins, but desires for wealth, power, fame, success, and a host of other things. The second partition is the “desires of the eyes” refers to the many things that capture our attention through our sight, the entry point for many temptations. Here again we need to discipline our eyes. What we allow ourselves to look at and what we avoid to not draw ourselves into sin. And the third partition, the “pride of life” where we boast of all the things we have materially, and we brag about all our achievements and popularity. The temptation to gossip about other people and live out the lies we tell ourselves. We grow accustom to believing some of the bad habits in our hearts are good. It’s quite all right to be selfish and self-centered. It’s quite all right to express hatred and disgust towards others. Thus, in our rugged individualism, we exalt ourselves, our self-importance over God and others. Pride is at the root of today’s narcissistic culture.
The first Sunday in Lent begins with Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted and tested by the schemes of the devil (Luke 4:1-13). After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. Now the desert where he was taken was truly barren and desolate. As William Barclay describes it; the hills were like dust heaps; the limestone looked blistered and peeling; and the ground sounded hollow to the horses’ hooves and it glowed like the heat of a vast furnace. It was in this place of devastation where Jesus was tested. We’ve all experienced those dark times in our lives where our spiritual, emotional and physical strength and resilience grow weak, where doubts begin to cloud our certainty about God, what is and what is not sin.
In the temptation of Jesus, the devil tempted him with food. The devil also tempted him with worldly power. He could have what was already his if he worshiped the devil and gave up his unwavering devotion to his Father. But with every temptation, Jesus pushed back on the devil’s deception with the very word of God, a word that holds divine power and authority. Though his own people in Nazareth rejected him, the devil here recognizes Jesus as “the Holy One of God.” Luke tells us that after the devil’s plans to seduce Jesus were foiled, the devil left him until a more opportune time. The devil does appear again in the final days of Jesus’ life.
How do we overcome our temptations? The devil always whispers in our ear what our itching ears what to hear the most. First, prayer is a powerful deterrent against temptation. The Holy Spirit comes to our aid when we cry out to him for help. Second, we cling to the word of God as Jesus did, and use it as a source of power and authority. Thirdly, those who are baptized and clothed in the love and mercy of God wear a shield of protection against the evil forces of this world. Spending time daily in the Bible and prayer is not optional for Christians. Rather, it is a critical part of the process of renewing our minds and learning to recognize and do God’s will and deal effectively with temptation and testing “when” it comes. Amen.
- Rev. Dona Johnson |March 9, 2025