Resisting Temptation
Resisting Temptation
Mar 6, 2022
Luke 4: 1-13
Want to edit your digital photographs? Watch the BBC? Keep track of your running? Play a game on your phone? Diagnose an illness? Pretend to drink a beer? All you need is an app.
An app or application is a specialized program that you download to your smartphone or other mobile device. Apps run the gamut from games to business programs, allowing you to play Angry Birds or keep your appointments. One even encourages you to attack your enemies through a digital voodoo doll.
There's an app for almost anything. I have heard it said that there are more than 500,000 of them, and that was several years ago.
Such variety explains why so many people are staring at their phones these days, instead of looking at other human beings. In response to this, a pithy message was making the rounds: "(Are you) putting your phone away and paying attention to those talking to you?” There's an app for that, too.
Some smartphone apps are causing problems, but apps are now available to transform us into "thinner, richer, all-around-better versions of ourselves.”
Want to lose weight, become wealthy, or break a bad habit?
There's an app for that -- and that -- and that! The key is behavior modification, supported by smartphone technology. There was an app called "Lose It” that let you share your weight-loss data with others, giving you the social support you need for success.
But maybe you want to save money. A "mobile behavior change company” offered an app that reminded users to hold off on impulse purchases so that they would be able to stay on their budgets.
What if you want to watch television less or say "thank you” more? An app can let you choose the behavior you would like to target, whether it's controlling your time in front of the tube or expressing your appreciation.
The slogan of one of these apps was: "Change your habits, change your life.”
Jesus certainly understood the connection between faith, personal habits, and the quality of life, which is why he spent reportedly 40 days in the desert wilderness following his baptism. He made a set of choices there that can also become habits for us – and change our lives, too. Although Jesus didn't do it through any smartphone program, he did give guidelines and social support for resisting temptation.
As we apply the teachings of Jesus to our own lives, we'll be “apping” toward holiness.
Take this app for example: the Trust God, not Self app. Luke tells us that Jesus was tempted for 40 days by the devil, and during that period Jesus ate nothing. When those days were over, "he was famished” (Luke 4:2).
The devil says to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread” (v. 3). Notice that the devil is making a reasonable suggestion: Jesus is famished, and a loaf of bread would give him energy to keep on serving God. In addition, the idea of bread in the wilderness has a reference to the manna that God provided to the people of Israel during their 40-year exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land.
But Jesus says “No,” because he is in the habit of trusting God, not himself. If he performs this miracle, he will be serving his own needs instead of allowing God to provide for him. And so, he responds to the devil by quoting a line from the book of Deuteronomy, the same verse that reminds the Israelites that God provided them with bread in the wilderness: "One does not live by bread alone” (Luke 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3). Instead, we are to live by trusting what God says and does.
I didn’t listen last month, but a few Olympics ago athletes were praising God for their gold medals. Gabby Douglas, the first black woman in Olympic history to win gold in the women's gymnastics individual all-around, thanked God by saying, "I give all the glory to God. It's kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes (up) to God and the blessings fall down on me.” Countless Christians were inspired by her performance and her willingness to trust God instead of herself.
But how about when a faithful Christian does not win a medal? Runner Lolo Jones, who speaks frequently of her faith in Christ, spent four years training for the 100-meter hurdles. But even though she ran an outstanding race, she came in fourth and failed to medal.
Jones was devastated, but didn't lose her faith. She says she has never "prayed to win a gold medal at [the] Olympics and never will.” She says that the Lord is her shepherd, and she "shall not want.”
Way back in high school I used to pole vault. I was comfortable praying to do my best, but I could never pray that the other guy miss and knock down the crossbar. I was unbeaten my senior year except for the State meet where I tied for fourth place. Even there, I could not ask God to make the other fellow do less than his best.
When we trust God instead of ourselves, winning or losing is not the measure we apply. Whether we win medals or not, we can be grateful for God's gifts of life, breath, talent, strength, and the love and support of family and friends. If we apply ourselves to trusting God, we shall not want.
Or, how about this app: the Serve Only God app. In the second temptation, Luke writes that the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. The tempter says, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours” (vv. 5-7). This is a reasonable offer, because think of all the good Jesus could do if he had authority over all of the kingdoms of the world. With a single command, he could eliminate poverty, disease, hunger, injustice, violence and abuse.
But there's a catch: Jesus must worship the devil, compromising with the power of evil. For Jesus, such a price is too high, even if great good can be accomplished in the world. Jesus quotes the book of Deuteronomy once again, saying, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Luke 4:8; Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20).
This app is a tough one for us, because we're asked to make compromises every day. Do we work overtime to make money for our family, or go home at a normal hour to spend time with our family? Do we save money by buying products manufactured in countries where workers are exploited, or do we pay a little more for American-made goods? Do we push for better environmental standards, even when protecting the environment will hinder certain industries and raise our prices?
These are tough choices, and none of them breaks down into good versus evil -- God versus the devil. But, what Jesus is asking us to do is to serve God ahead of ourselves, putting God's interests ahead of our own success. Jesus might have had great earthly success if he had worshiped the devil, but instead he chose to focus on serving God.
We can do the same, by turning to God in prayer when we are confronted by a choice between overtime and family time. We can commit ourselves to loving our neighbors as ourselves before we purchase another expensive item. We can take seriously our role as stewards of God's creation when we take stands on the economy and the environment, knowing that God wants us both to use and to preserve the resources of the earth.
If we apply ourselves to serving only God, we will find a faithful path through these challenges.
Finally, app this: the Do Not Put God to the Test app. In his last temptation, Luke reports that the devil takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and invites him to throw himself down, trusting the promise of the Book of Psalms, "His angels ... will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone” (Luke 4:9-11; Psalm 91:11-12). After hearing Jesus use Scripture in his previous responses, the devil is clever enough to use scripture as part of his own temptation.
But once again Jesus resists, going back to Deuteronomy to find the words, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Luke 4:12; Deuteronomy 6:16). Jesus trusts the power of God to save him, but he is not going to tell God when and how to do it. Even at the end of his life, he does not ask God to rush in and rescue him from the cross. But the promise of Scripture comes true for Jesus, as God raises his spirit from his crucifixion.
If we're honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we have all put God to the test. Charles Rush, a pastor in New Jersey, says it starts in the third grade, when we get a pop quiz on the multiplication tables. We say, "God, if Marcy Fogelman's paper can come into view during this test, I promise I will not curse for a whole week.”
From there, it just escalates, "Dear God, if I can just get Robin Hittman alone at this party, I will be nice to my sister.”
"O God, just let this pitch land in there for strike three. I won't get drunk the whole weekend.”
"O God, let those guys emerge from behind the conference room doors with a job offer. I'll go back to church every week.”
In all of these cases, we are bargaining with God, making promises in exchange for particular types of help. This is a form of testing God, which Jesus refuses to do. If we avoid this temptation, we will move closer to God and find a sense of peace -- in God’s will, not ours. Looking at the entire temptation story, we see that all of Jesus' choices enabled him to remain close to God and to build his divine agenda.
Trusting God, serving God, and not putting God to the test: these are the “apps” that Jesus uses in his own time of trial. They are habits that he recommends that we apply to our own struggles.
If we change our habits, we can change our lives. And, maybe even “app” ourselves closer to holiness.
There is just no point in gaining even the whole world while losing our souls. Let’s change our habits and bring ourselves closer to holiness.
Sermons\Lk4_1-11.3a22
Sources:
Beaty, Katelyn. "Where was God when Lolo Jones placed fourth?” Her.meneutics, August 9, 2012. from http://blog.christianitytoday.com. Freedman, David H. "The perfected self.” The Atlantic, June 2012, 42-52.
Rush, Charles. "Bargaining With God.” Christ Church website, March 21, 2004. http://www.christchurchsummit.org.
Hymns: Take My Life and Let it Be (399); What a Friend We Have in Jesus (526); I Need Thee Every Hour (397)
Praise: Take My Life (Tomlin); Rescue (Anderson); Lord, I Need You (Nockels)