at least in the church i grew up in.
teenagers were tempted to have sex before marriage.
men were tempted to have sex with someone other than their wife.
there were other temptations.
but sex was the big one.
making temptation mostly about sex makes it easy.
the pharisees could easily say, "i don't do that. i refrain. i'm making the sacrifice of not giving in to what i'd really like to do."
the lesson about temptation in the bible from jesus was quite different.
jesus was tempted with physical relief for his hunger. the temptation was presented as compassion for his need.
"turn these stones into bread"
stones, not stone.
more than he needed for his own hunger.
in our society, we are tempted with every commercial to buy more than we need. we are tempted to buy that which we don't need. we are tempted for more, more, more.
money could be made encouraging people to buy for others, to use our extra so that others have enough.
jesus did.
when jesus answered with scripture, satan answered with the same.
"He will command the angels concerning you,
and they will lift up their hands,
lest you strike your foot against a stone."
Matthew 4:6
how often are christians tempted to use scripture to divide the world into "us" and "them".
we are the children of god. our sin is not as bad as the sin of others. people of a certain sin cannot serve in our churches, but other sins can be overlooked.
we are to be protected. we are not to be punished on earth for jealousy or gluttony. those are personal. other sins threaten the fabric of our nation. for those people to suffer is acceptable to us.
we judge certain people for their sin but allow others to embrace their sin because it provides protection for us that we crave.
a protection that is often about more than enough money to provide for both our needs and our wants.
this goes against one of the greatest themes of jesus's teachings.
when a man came to jesus for healing on the sabbath, the pharisees were ready to condemn him if he broke the law by healing him.
the law, for them, was greater than compassion. they could avoid acting in love by a strict interpretation of the law.
jesus says compassion is the purpose of the law.
law trumps compassion.
finally, jesus was tempted with ultimate power, the power to rule over the world. think of how much good could be done....
but at a cost of bowing down to the way of lucifer.
the angel of light.
the one who left heaven because he opposed the compassion that would allow humans, not only entrance to the kingdom of heaven, but prominence over angels.
the way of jesus has always been to love god, to love our neighbor as ourself.
My children, our love should not be in just words and talk; it must be true love, that shows itself in action
1 John 3:18
it is the sin of arrogance and pride.
it is the sin of thinking ourselves as better.
the temptation is to say we love god without the second commandment which is the action of the first.
the temptation is great.
the resisting an every day event.
