Matthew 4:8–9:
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
In the third of the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness, the Devil does not use the taunt, “If you are the Son of God.” This time he goes to the heart of what he wants, while still making an offer to Jesus that is “too good to be true.” All Satan asks for is worship and, in return, Jesus will receive the kingdoms of the world.
Most of us will know what it is like to anticipate something that is full of promise but which turns out to be a disappointment. In this case, there are two omissions from the particulars of the deal. First, the Devil is in charge of what is wrong in the world, not what is right. Second, the Devil shows Jesus what is splendid, what is right, and therefore what came from Jesus’s Father in the first place.
There is no special deal here. Jesus knew that there was a murky side to the splendour of the kingdoms, which is why his mission to redeem them and all their people was devised in the first place. To be in hock to the Devil would not do anything to help the cause.
There are many opportunities to lose sight of the core values and purposes of our lives without being lured into meaningless deals or promises of pie in the sky.
A Prayer
Lord, I pray that you will help me stay fixed on my course and make changes only when I am very sure that I know all the small print of special offers to change direction. Give me the strength of will and faith to stay on the course you have guided me onto, and the courage to say no to all that is too good to be true. Amen.