The devil’s way
March 9, 2009 (Monday)
When Jesus was visited by the devil at the outset of His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:1-11), He was tempted to become the sensationalistic type of person that would use His powers for personal gain and perform miracles to satisfy His own ego. He emphatically rejected those temptations.
The devil quoted a Scripture which promised rescue by angels if He would cast Himself down from a high pinnacle of the temple. Jesus’ reply was, “you shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Jesus would not cheapen his mission by focusing on Himself. In so doing, he refused to commit the sin of pride. He set an example for us, an example that urges us to live by principles and objectives and goals that reject pride and selfishness.
Let’s show people how great God is, not how great we are. We are tempted to play to the crowd instead of seeking God’s approval. Even as we try to spread the gospel, we are tempted to brag on ourselves so that people will want to have the kind of faith we seem to have. We are tempted to show how important to God we think we are.
Let’s show people how important God is to us, not how important we are to God. We sometimes brag about how God has blessed us, even when we have shown poor judgment. Sometimes we even get ourselves into difficult positions so that God can rescue us. We seem to insist on putting God to the test, even though Jesus refused to do so and quoted Scripture to show it is wrong. Sadly, we presume upon God’s grace at times, forgetting that the grace of God leads us to repent and does not give us license to test God.
Let’ show people how God calls us to self-denial, not to self-centeredness. We are tempted to impress others by bragging about moments when God acted in our behalf, thereby rejecting self-denial and choosing self-exaltation instead. Sometimes God demands sacrifice, endurance of pain, and humility. He isn’t always shoveling money into our accounts and making us popular. Worst of all, this kind of presumptuous thinking leads to the weird notion that God can bless our sin. “How can it be wrong when it seems so right?” are the tragic words of many a person who has succumbed to his/her pride. An old saying seems appropriate: “He’s too big for his britches!” The truth is, God can get along without us, but we cannot get along without Him.
Pride is the devil’s way; humility is God’s way.