The Selfless Way of Christ
Temptation: The Lure of Upward Mobility
The Temptation to Be Powerful
Pages 60-66
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 4:8-11 (NIV) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Luke 4:9-13 (NIV) The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
“From the moment we set out on our climb to the top, we make ourselves believe that striving for power and wanting to be of service are, for all practical purposes, the same thing.”
How have you noticed in your life, in the church, and/or in different ministries you have observed the line between striving for power and wanting to be of service has blurred?
“Power always lusts after greater power precisely because it is an illusion. Despite our experience that power does not give us the sense of security we desire, but instead reveals our own weaknesses and limitations, we continue to make ourselves believe that more power will eventually fulfill our needs.”
What are some ways that you have believed or pursued the illusion of “attaining” power? What might that reveal about your needs and desires?
“The mystery of our ministry is that we are called to serve not with our power but with our powerlessness. It is through powerlessness that we can enter into solidarity with our fellow human beings, form a community with the weak, and thus reveal the healing, guiding, and sustaining mercy of God.”
How does serving from a position of powerlessness reveal God to the world?
“As long as we divide our time and energy between others, we forget that service outside of God becomes self-seeking, and self-seeking leads to manipulation, and manipulation to power games, and power games to violence, and violence to destruction - even when it falls under the name of ministry.”
What is your response to this statement? Do you agree? Have you seen or experienced the progression from self-seeking to destruction?