Last week I attended a Bible study with Pastor Gary, he's going through the entire book of Matthew. I decided to go because, hey, this is as close to the inside of a classroom as I'll ever get again! Plus I was hoping that a fresh perspective on some of these stories that I know all to well would help me grow as a person and especially as a follower of Christ. I wasn't disappointed.
We talked about the temptation of Jesus as found in Matthew 4:1-11. I took copious notes, just like I used to do in college, but there was something that stuck with me most of all, and that was how Pastor Gary defined the word "sin." We've all heard the saying "there is no 'I' in team," talking about how being selfish on any kind of a team causes the team to not play or compete as a true unit, which can lead to undesirable outcomes. Well in "sin" there is certainly an "I," and as he pointed out it's really a capital "I." The implication is clear: sIn is all about me. Sin is what happens when I think only of myself or when I exhibit excessive self interest. This is the exact opposite of the life Jesus advocates, a life that denies oneself to the glory of God and to the selfless service of those around us. Let's take a few minutes and consider how "sIn" has the opportunity to appear in each of the three temptations as recorded by the author of Matthew.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
--Matthew 4: 1-4 (NRSV)
After Jesus is baptized by John in the previous chapter, he goes alone into the wilderness for 40 days before he begins what will be his public ministry. He fasts during the entire time and saying he was "famished" afterward is probably a huge understatement. Satan (or the devil, tempter, or adversary) appears to Jesus, seeing him in this state and says "Come on now, you're the Son of God. You know all you gotta do is say the word and these rocks will turn into bread for you and you can eat all you want!"
Would that be tempting? Oh yes. I haven't really fasted much in my life. One year I fasted all day on Ash Wednesday. That was enough for me. Come Thursday morning, I was "famished" myself. However, does bread equal more than just bread or even food here? Jesus responds to the temptation by saying that man doesn't live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from God. I don't think it's just about food, neither did Pastor Gary. The bread here can be symbolic of all of the material things we want in life. Let's face it, in the United States, most of us know where our next meal is coming from. Certainly some of us (myself included) put way too much stock in food, but think about the other things that we think we "need" in life,
I came up with a couple of things as I thought about this concept. Cable TV for instance. Man, I really do feel that I NEED to be able to watch my soccer matches from England every weekend. Also, internet access. What would I do if I couldn't stay connected through my smart phone, computer, or tablet? I love to play multiplayer modes on video games, that requires an internet connection. I feel like I'd be lost without that. Think about other toys that we think we need. To me, one of the most mind-numbing exhibitions of American greed happens every time Apple announces a new product. People are glued to these products. New Iphone? Gotta have it. Ooh, a new version of the Ipad! Let's line up outside the store on release day to get our hands on one. You can't tell me that these devices haven't reached "necessity" status for some people.
Is all of this excessive self interest, this desire for all of these material things? I think a lot of the time it is, thus falling into Pastor Gary's definition of sIn. I'm not saying that it's wrong to desire or even to enjoy some of these things, but I know for me, and for a lot of others in our culture, it really does become excessive. What might happen if we took some of the money we were going to spend on our cell phone upgrade this year and donated it to a food bank or homeless shelter? John Wesley famously kept his hair long and used the money that he would have paid a barber to give to the poor and needy. One thing I've started doing is just spending at least five or six bucks every week to buy some food for the local food bank in Ogden. Our church keeps a shopping cart in the vestibule and every week someone takes the donations over to the food bank. It's not a lot, but it's about the price of a meal I might buy when I get off work. I feel it's the very least I can do. That doesn't mean I've overcome excessive self interest, far from it, but it's a start, and it makes me feel great!
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” --Matthew 4: 5-7 (NRSV)
For his next trick, the Tempter takes Jesus to the top of the temple and says, "Hey man if you're the Son of God jump off the temple here. Scripture says that God will send angels to catch you so you won't be hurt." This might sound a little odd to us, but think about it this way: what are some of the reasons that Jesus might have had a desire to jump? How about this: maybe Jesus DID want to prove he was the Son of God and just maybe he might have given in and done it so he could show the Tempter just how special he really was: out of PRIDE. Does that sound like something many of us have a problem with?
Absolutely. In fact, a good definition of PRIDE might also be "excessive self interest." When we are overly prideful, we truly put ourselves not just at the center of our lives, but we like to try to put ourselves in the center of other people's lives as well. It's as if the sun, moon, and stars all revolve around us. We put ourselves up on a pedestal, and man, it's a great view from up there isn't it? We can look down on everybody else, we become a judge of others. We set ourselves apart from others.
Again this is the exact opposite of what Christ desires for each of us. As Christians, we're supposed to put Christ at the center of everything around us. When we do that, we're no longer testing our relationship with God. It allows us to step outside of ourselves and our own needs and pride, then we can see, and minister to, the needs of the world around us just as Christ did.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. --Matthew 4: 8-11 (NRSV)
As it turns out, the Tempter has one more ace up his sleeve. He takes Jesus up to the top of a high mountain where he can survey all the land and kingdoms around him. Then he tells Jesus "I can give you ALL OF THIS. All you gotta do is just bow down and worship me." This appeals to one of our basest, most coveted desires: the desire for POWER.
Is there anything more addicting to us humans than power? I'm not sure. You know what's like, surely you've had power over someone in your life. I have. I'm a supervisor at work. I can ask or tell certain employees to do something, and chances are, they'll do it. Doesn't that feel great, even in small doses? I like to think I'm a pretty good guy when it comes to being a supervisor, but I can also tell you that I've abused that power for my own interest more times than I'd like to admit.
And that's just a tiny sliver of power. Think about our politicians. These men and women (mostly men) literally have people's lives in their hands. The decisions these people make not only influence happiness and quality of life, but sometimes their choices literally decide whether people live or die. Can you imagine? One phone call from a governor can save a condemned inmate's life just moments before he is to be put to death. Do you think that kind of power can go to someone's head? Absolutely.
Those other two things we've talked about: material desires and pride: power takes care of those things doesn't it? Think of some our professional athletes or celebrities and the power they wield. If you want regular folks to buy your products, get it in the hands of an NFL football player or A-List movie star. I'm sure a lot of these people can pick up a phone, tell somebody that they want some material thing, and it's gotten for them immediately. Think of the pride exhibited by some, but not all of these people. If you think about Will Farrell's character in the movie "Anchorman" he goes around saying "I'm kind of a big deal."
We laugh at that because it's true It's not just true for politicians, celebrities, and athletes either. It's true for all of us. We all have our sphere of influence in our lives, and man, the pond we're in may be pretty small, but we sure like being the biggest fish in it, don't we? The drive for power is sIn, excessive self interest, in it's purest form.
Contrast that to the figure of Christ. Contrast that to the Son of God, who was with God, and was God at the beginning of all things, to quote John 1. He becomes a man, walks among his creations, feels their pain and needs their needs. That's why the story of Christ being tempted is so important. We know that he went through what we go through every minute of the day. Though he was God, he knew he needed to be tempted so he had the chance to say no to these things. We are given that same chance to say no to materialism. pride, and power: to excessive self interest. It doesn't always work, at least it doesn't for me, and I've spent a lot of time over the last few years beating myself up about it. I've spent a lot of time asking "what's in it for me" as opposed to "what can I do for others?" It's only recently that I've finally realized the true gift of Christ, that stumbling and falling is ok. I don't have just myself to pull myself up either. I have Jesus, who's been there, and I have a wonderful family and friends to help pull me up too. None of us are in it alone.
As I close this entry and this day, I invite you to think about sIn, excessive self interest. How can you, how can we all change and truly serve others? I also invite you to meditate on Christ in the Garden the night before he died. Truly, his sense of self interest must have been operating full throttle, knowing what was going to happen to him over the next 24 hours. He asks the Father: "Ïs there any other way? Is there any other way for this to be done than for me to suffer what I'm going to suffer? Is there any way for this cup to pass from my lips?"
Imagine the anxiety.
Imagine the anguish,
He could have ended it all there, but he chose not to. "Let not my will, but yours be done." It is perhaps the most selfless moment of his life, and he invites us to share in that moment, to share in that selflessness. It is the exact opposite of "sIn," of excessive self interest.
"Let not my will, but yours be done."
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