Episode 87 - Modern Temptations
The last service of September focused on the phrase “do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” We learned the importance of being self-aware and humble to recognize the power of evil, how real temptation is, and how we are to combat it both by knowing God’s will and striving to fulfill our purpose.
As with many things in life, when faced with temptations, we have to make decisions. And, ultimately, any decision we make is because of our free will, the ability God gave us to make choices. However, when making decisions, we have to assess that just because we can do something, should we?
We can look at Jesus’ response as He was being tempted in the desert (Luke 4:1-13) to find an example of how we can combat temptations.
In the first temptation of turning the stones into bread, the Lord said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” In order to invest in something that will truly sustain us, we should ask God what His will is, knowing it will be the best thing to sustain us into the future.
In the second temptation, when the devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms, we find a parallel in the internet. The internet is a wonderful tool when stewarded properly; however, if we become consumed with it, it is tantamount to worship. When we worship something or someone, we give it worth, and if we spend much of our time on the internet, we place value in it, thereby worshipping it. This can bring about a series of things that could affect our walk as disciples of Christ (e.g. seeking validation from people, trying to reinforce our own ego, etc.)
In the third temptation, when the devil tempted Jesus to throw Himself down the pinnacle, we are moved to self-reflect, “How far can I go?” In a world that is constantly pushing us to go to extremes (in risks, in pleasure, in relationships, etc.) one could push the boundaries, yield to the temptation, and think, “God is forgiving and His grace is abundant. He will forgive me.” But Jesus gives the answer: you shall not tempt God. Christ gave His life so that we could be forgiven. We are to strive to fight against temptations just as Jesus did. He has given us everything we need to be delivered, and we can rely on Him and His word.