Referring to Christ’s forty day temptation in the desert Matt 4:1-11, Henri Nouwen observes:
“Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self. Jesus himself entered into this furnace. There he was tempted with the three compulsions of the world: to be relevant, to be spectacular and to be powerful. There Christ affirmed God as the only source of his identity.”
“The Way of the Heart” p. 25
Christ is our model. As a man He had to deal with the same temptations as you and I. In this passage Christ exposes satan’s techniques and shows us how to win in these three critical areas of temptation: to be relevant, spectacular and powerful. We can also learn here three key aspects of battle; timing, attacks and response.
Timing: Satan attacks when we are weak, down, wounded, broken, …..
Attacks: Satan starts by questioning Christ’s fundamental identity – is He really the Son of God, does God really love Him? Then satan offers Christ immediate, easy satisfaction in the areas all men desire.
Response: Christ doesn’t argue with satan, He cuts no deals, makes no compromise – He returns to the Truth of Scripture and conforms His behavior to the Truth.
One last set of three’s – how do you see these three temptations as relating to the most visible areas in which we men fail: Sex, money, power?
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Hey Mark,
ReplyDeleteOut of Solitude is amazing. I don't remember this particular passage though - and upon seeing it now, I'd like to see the terms refined. Relevance, for instance: in what sense is it a temptation. Certainly Christ was being relevant in facing down the temptation to "appear relevant." And the desire to be relevant isn't always a temptation is it? It seems as though you have to be self-aware enough (through solitude, confession, etc) to know when appearing relevant will make you irrelevant...
I'm not sure about what wanting to be spectacular means. Do we want people to worship us? I'd say far too often.
And again, I agree that power is often the form through which temptations come, but I wonder if there isn't as large a branch of tempters out there propagating the need to be powerless lest we be tempted by power.
Here's a nice passage from George MacDonald:
It was not his power, however, but his glory, that Jesus showed forth in the miracle. His power could not be hidden, but it was a poor thing beside his glory.
Yea, power in itself is a poor thing. If it could stand alone, which it cannot, it would be a horror. No amount of lonely power could create. It is the love that is at the root of power, the power of power, which alone can create. What then was this his glory? What was it that made him glorious? It was that, like his Father, he ministered to the wants of men. Had they not needed the wine, not for the sake of whatever show of his power would he have made it. The concurrence of man's need and his love made it possible for that glory to shine forth. It is for this glory most that we worship him. But power is no object of adoration, and they who try to worship it are slaves. Their worship is no real worship. Those who trembled at the thunder from the mountain went and worshipped a golden calf; but Moses went into the thick darkness to find his God.
I also like this one from MLK:
“Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change. … What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”
I also wonder if the idea the Satan attacks is a metaphor with a certain pastoral context for best use. In other words, is there a time when he isn't like a lion seeking whom he may devour but is on the Spirit's clock, waiting to meet Jesus in the wilderness. "The Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." God uses even evil for His purposes. But if the devil can at times be understood as a subcontractor in our sanctification, what about James' insistence that God doesn't tempt anyone? What is the meaning in the difference between active tempting and allowing it, or leading into it?
But all my questions go quiet before your application: we need to hold fast to the truth as Christ did, to proclaim it with authority.
Sex, money, power - good servants, poor masters. If you let the seen assert itself over the unseen, these things will become the primary leverage through which manipulators can get their hooks in you through fear, dissatisfaction, and greed.
Cheerio, my friend!
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Alex,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you wanting to define terms – I would like to do that, perhaps in a separate blog. For this blog, the intent is not terms, but the heart and helping each of us to understand what drives, distracts and distraught’s us. For me:
- be relevant: :I want to be noticed by others, applauded, complimented and affirmed in what I can give to them. This is a sure path to disappointment, a distraction from God and can easily lead me into worshipping the God of “popular approval”. I am relevant because of who I am in Christ. Period.
- to be spectacular: : I want the good feelings, the adrenaline rush and the sense of achievement which come with being recognized as spectacular; I want to be like God. Ultimately I am trying to push God aside and climb onto the throne, and receive all the glory. When I realize this, I am terrified at my intent, and so thankful for God’s immense grace and glory.
- be powerful: Powerful for me means primarily two things: I can get what I want (and my internal self continues to believe “if I only had…., I would be happy) and it means I can prevent others from hurting me.