“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:8-9 KJV)
You know that it’s almost amazing that if we were to see what the devil showed Jesus on that mountain, we might at first glance pick out the large number of kingdoms, the great military fitness they had, the great vaults of gold (and what we could do with that kind of funding), and perhaps even breathtaking views. Yet, if we could go on considering the offer of such kingdoms, we might also see off the chart corruption, the vile trade in slavery, the miles of one slum after another just outside these palaces, and worse. Our temptation might even be to show all of these kingdoms how they could manage better. How fair trade practices, or free speech, or fair elections, or a dozen other things that the learned people could show them to free themselves from what was clearly a trap. Yet, the reality was (and still is today) that these kingdoms didn’t need swimming lessons to teach them how to swim better in a flooded world. They needed a savior who would be there when they confessed their sins to pull them out of that water altogether.
It’s fascinating that this wolf (or serpent) has changed his clothes since then. Now the straw man that needs tamed is the “distracted” screen time on the cell phone. It’s the gas gusling SUV. It’s the right to free speech; especially vulgar speech. It’s too many handguns in the possession of ordinary citizens. Make no mistake. The “devil” isn’t in the cell phone, the SUV, the free speech, nor the handgun. These just facilitate what we already desire. Think about this for a second. What caliber handgun did Cain use to kill Able (Genesis 4)? What screen was David watching when he invited Bathsheba over (2 Samuel 11)? Conversely, what all terrain vehicle was Elijah driving when he outran Ahab’s chariot (1 Kings 18:46)? Or were not Peter and John publicly threatened for speaking of Jesus freely (Acts 4)? No, “distractions” are an easy straw man to blame. Things like this just facilitate what is already inside us. Hence that is why confession and repentance is a very necessary first step. We can go right on listening about how to better manage distractions, or we can learn what it means to surrender right there at the feet of Jesus. The penitent person on his knees is not only admitting his own sins, he is also asking God to sort all that is before him right there at that moment so that he might know what is really important. Is it without reason that we are given verses like Matthew 6:33 that tell us whom to seek first? Are we given realistic and present instruction like Deuteronomy 6 to talk about these things as we go along our path? Did you ever notice that one of the most frequent phrases that Jesus uses is “Verily Verily” (or “Truly Truly” depending on your translation)? It’s a call to what is real. Reality. Not virtuality. Not what man can make. What actually happens when you find God as your source of wisdom (see Proverbs 2:6)?
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4:10 KJV)