The Selfless Way of Christ
Temptation: The Lure of Upward Mobility
The Temptation to Be Spectacular
Pages 53-60
Mark 1:12 (NIV) At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Matthew 4:5-7 (NIV) Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Luke 4:5-8 (NIV) The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
“We have come to believe that a service is valuable when many attend, a protest or demonstration is worthwhile when television cameras are present, a study group is worth having when many want to be part of it, and a church is successful when many desire to become members. “Truth” in our culture has become so largely determined by statistics that it is easy for us to truly believe that the number of people who listen, watch, or attend is a measure of the quality of that which is presented.”
How have you found your identity or measured your spiritual “success or failure” by statistics?
When and how are you tempted to believe the world’s “truth” instead of THE Truth of Jesus who is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life?
“Who am I when nobody pays attention, say thanks, or recognizes my work? The more insecure, doubtful, and lonely we are, the greater our need for popularity and praise.”
What are some ways that you’ve been driven by popularity and praise?
How might this indicate that there is something deeper that you lack?
“The search for spectacular glitter is an expression of doubt in God’s complete and unconditional acceptance of us. It is indeed putting God to the test.”
Is God’s complete acceptance of you hard for you to believe? If so, why might that be?
“Only a life of ongoing intimate communion with God can reveal to us our true selfhood; only such a life can set us free to act according to the truth, and not according to our need for the spectacular.”
What is your response to this statement? Do you agree?