DON'T MESS AROUND WITH THE DEVIL

Don’t Mess Around with The Devil

Lenten Reflection #2

Matthew 4:1-11

As indicated in reflection #1, I am sharing a series of Lenten reflections that I am writing for our congregation. Since all Christians are on this same journey, I pray that you may be challenged by some of these thoughts as well.

When the time was right, Jesus was baptized, and when he came up from the Jordan, his Father proclaimed: you are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.(Mark 1:11) Wow! What a moment. It was, at least for the apostle Mark, the beginning of Jesus’ journey. It was a great moment… but even before his hair had dried, Jesus was “pushed” into the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil. The Tempter, it seems, was alive and well and at work in the wilderness, just as he was in God’s Garden of Eden. That the Tempter would even consider tempting Jesus is daunting when we think about it… but it’s even scarier to know that our journey is fraught with temptations too. Temptation is always near. We’re always under attack, but we’re less vulnerable if we understand the temptations that our Lord conquered and the way in which he conquered them.

Jesus was hungry and exhausted when the Tempter said, “IF you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Take matters into your own hands, Jesus! Feed yourself. Your Father knows that you need strength because your cross will be very heavy. Feed yourself, the Tempter said, but Jesus replied, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Jesus needed bread, of course. We all do, but NOT in place of His Father’s word. God knows that we need the things that nourish us, but not nearly as much as we need Him. Along the way, we’ll be tempted to meet our own needs first. We may even be tempted to believe that God wants us to “feed ourselves,” but nothing satisfies like the word of God. In an age where people obsess with their financial and physical fitness, we need to be… at least as passionate about our spiritual health.

If you are not tempted to feed yourself first, praise God… but surely it would be helpful to make a name for yourself.  Look, the Tempter seemed to say to Jesus, you can spend years walking around Galilee, teaching and healing a person now and then… OR you can make headlines… by hurling yourself off of the highest point of the temple. Why, the entire city of Jerusalem will turn out to watch, as you defy the laws of nature.  You will be an overnight sensation, and people will believe that you really are the Son of God. Besides, IF you are the Son of God, your Father will save you anyway because His plan of salvation depends on it. It’s a no-brainer… unless, of course, you don’t trust your Father… or aren’t even His Son. Push God outside of His comfort zone… for your sake! But Jesus replied, “It is also written: do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Friends, be aware. If you are tempted to put yourself at the center of your Christian journey, seek the word of God immediately!

Tempting Jesus to put himself first, didn’t work. Tempting Jesus to force God’s hand, didn’t work. So, the Devil took Jesus up to the top of a high mountain, and said, Look, Jesus. Just look at it. It can all be yours… “if you will bow down and worship me.” Why die for a world that you can own it? Why hang on a cross when you can sit on a throne? Abandon God altogether and serve me. It’s your choice, Jesus… serve God and go to the cross. Serve me and rule the world. Why invite people to follow you… when you can order them to obey? What do you say? And Jesus, who would later pay for our sins on a blood-stained cross, said, “Get away, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” Then, the Bible says, Satan left him, and the angels came and attended to him. After all, he still needed a little food and a lot of TLC!

People say that EGO “edges God out,” and I have certainly found that to be the case in my life. Whenever I focus on myself, I am filled with fear and projections. I feel entitled to things that I don’t have, and ungrateful for what I do have. Spiritually, I starve myself, relationally, I isolate myself; and physically, I wear myself down. When I am the center of my own world, I become hungry, lonely, and tired, even angry, which makes me very vulnerable to temptation. In the 12 Step world they talk about HALT. Don’t allow yourself to be hungry, angry, lonely, and tired because that is a recipe for disaster. In Biblical terms, you will be easy prey for the Tempter if you fall into a state of HALT. “When the devil had finished all this temptation, he left him (Jesus) until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) This may be the most frightening verse in Scripture… because the Tempter is cunning… and very, very patient! Amen.

SMALL GODS

"Gotta serve somebody." Do you remember this classic song by Bob Dylan?  You may be an ambassador to England or France. You may like to gamble; you might like to dance. You may be the heavyweight champion of the world; you may be a socialite with a long string of pearls... but you're gonna have to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody. You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride; you may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side; you might like to eat caviar; you might like to eat bread; you may be sleeping on the floor... on in a king-sized bed... but you're gonna have to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Yes, it's true- we have to serve somebody. It's just a matter of when, what, or whom. Daniel Foster Wallace said it plainly: "There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we have is what to worship." We might worship, he went on to say, a spiritual thing (like Jesus Christ, Yahweh, or allah), or a set of principles (like the 4 Noble Truths), or one of the idols who will "eat us alive," (like money, pleasure, power, and drugs)... but we will worship someone or some thing. Idolatry, it seems, is part of who we are. Kierkegaard noted that building an identity around something other than God is the "normal state of the human heart," and John Calvin said, "Man's mind is like a store of idolatry...; so much so that if a man believes his own mind... it's certain that he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own brain." Yes, it's true- the human heart seeks a god and if it's not Christ Jesus, we will give our hearts to an idol. We have a need to worship, and if we aren't worshiping the real God, we are worshiping one of the small gods of this world.

In the 12-step world, it is said that whomever (or whatever) you turn to for comfort, strength, or security is your god. The one whom you can't get off your mind, whom you long to spend time with, whom you can't imagine living without, who simply makes you feel big and important... that one IS your god! One author put it this way, "When something becomes so important that it drives your behavior and commands your emotions, you are worshiping it," and Martin Luther added, "Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your god." So, how about it? Whom do you worship? Who is your god? In whom do you trust? 

Perhaps you're worshiping yourself. Many people do, you know. Many people... spend a lifetime pampering and serving the "omnipotent baby" who wants what he wants... and wants it now! Many people truly believe that life really is... all about them... and they trust in themselves for both security and deliverance. Besides, when we've come to believe that no one- not even and especially not God- can handle our secrets and our sins, we are obliged to seek our and serve a "small god"... and the one we know best is self. Many years ago, Voltaire noted that if God created us in His image, we have more than reciprocated because ... we've created God in our image time and time again.

"Self" is our favorite small god... but there are other idols beckoning us to worship them, aren't there? Of course there are, and the list of idols seeking our worship is almost unending. Our bank account, our piety, our church, our church building, our appearance, our family, our country, our jobs, our teams, pleasing others, pleasure itself, power, success, recognition, our possessions... these are but a few of the pretenders who promise life. Maybe you've worshiped one or more of them yourself. I know I have. I've succumbed to the voice of self more than once, but I really... fell in love with alcohol.  Indeed, I worshiped it for years, and while it seems odd to me now...there was a time when I couldn't image a single day without my bottled god. If things were tough, I turned to it; if things were great, I turned to it; if I needed courage, I turned to it; and if I needed to be charming, I turned to alcohol. Alcohol made me more than I was, and with a couple of drinks, I could dance like Fred Astaire and outfight Mohammed Ali. Alcohol was my god...but in the end it brought me to my knees, and left me for dead. That's the way it is with small gods like drink and drugs. They promise to set you free, but imprison you instead, and instead of making you whole, they break you into pieces. Indeed, they can do no other... because idols do not have the power to give or improve life!

I loved alcohol with all my heart, but when it let me down, I turned to my career, which I had worshiped anyway (though not as much as booze). I gave my heart and soul to the company. I talked the talk, I walked the walk, and I proselytized whenever I had the chance, I turned to work for fulfillment, and there was little that I would not do to get ahead, Actually, if I admit it, getting ahead was the only principle I really had, and I was sure that I could secure my future and be somebody, if I gave my heart to the corporate cause. So I gave the company the love and attention that I could've given to those who loved me. I gave it everything I had, and I kept on giving. Like alcohol, the small god called "career" wasn't satisfied until it had all of me, and have all of me it did. Getting promoted was my consuming passion, and worshiping this idol has left me with many heartfelt regrets.

Have you ever worshiped a drug or a job? Is either one of them your personal small god? Or are you part of the legion who worship money? Money, or should I say the love of it, is God's nemesis... because it beckons for us to put our trust in it... and it promises to save us... when there is only one Savior. Money is necessary currency, but for many, many people it becomes a god that promises them the world. Worship me, it whispers, and I'll give you heaven here on earth. Worship me, it shouts, and you will be worry-free. Worship me, it cries out, and you won't ever need God. Many people put their trust in their wealth, and for them, it becomes who they are... but love of money and love of God are diametrically opposed. One says "give," the other says "keep;" one says "let go," the other says "hang on;" one tells us that our riches are measured by what we give, the other tells us that we can simply sit at home and count them.

No one can worship money and God, because they're not compatible, but in truth, every single idol will let us down. Even taken together, they are powerless because there is only one God who is able. Money, power, drugs- they all vie for our worship. They promise what they cannot deliver, and... after they've their way with us, they leave us broken and regretful. Even now, there are people who are selling their souls to a small god... for a 3 car garage, a chunk of company stock, or a fifth of booze... and the devil laughs because it's so foolish. In the end, we will all stand before our Creator as He opens the book of Life, knowing that our "riches" will be counted by what we did with His Son and with the talents that He entrusted to us. In the end, there will be no titles, no designer purses, no stories of conquest, no rank or stature- just a record of what we did with Christ and how we served Him on earth. There are no banks in heaven, no bars, corner offices, no girlfriends, or gated neighborhoods either- just people... who had trusted in the Lord for salvation and loved both mercy and justice while they lived on earth. The choice, then, is ours. We can worship God and discover life and prosperity... or we can worship any number of idols- the small gods of money, power, pleasure, security, and more- and experience death and adversity! It's a spiritual truth. If we choose to worship God, we will be blessed with life... but if we choose to worship an idol, we will experience despair and death... because idols cannot give life. If we live for God, we will bear the fruit of righteousness, but if we trust in a small god, we will reap a harvest of disappointment and despair. Worshiping the real God requires surrender on our part, and serving the living Lord can be demanding ... but a God who can't ask for a life... is a God who can't give it either.

I WISH I WOULD'VE DONE MORE

My last blog was about two people whom our church family lost in the past few days. I called it a "Tale of Two Deaths," but everyone knows that these sort of things come in threes... so today, I write about my friend Paul H..

More than a year ago, a poor and sad man named Paul began to attend our church. He didn't say much, and it was clear that he didn't have much... but his mother was dying... and he needed comfort.  So, he kept showing up and we kept ministering to him. He had lost his future to drugs many years before I met him, but his grief... over his mother and his own wasted life... was palpable. In any event, he was forced out of his mother's house shortly after her funeral, and we lost contact with him... until the day before yesterday... when he called to tell me that his "fiance" had died. He was overwhelmed, he said, He knew he should be doing something, he said, but he didn't know what to do. They had taken her body to Iowa City and he couldn't get there. Moreover, he didn't have the money to bury her in a new dress, and since she was gone, he didn't know how he would make ends meet. He said that he had called a dozen places for help, but no one would help him. He was lost, he said. her love was all he had, and he needed someone to help him.

I could feel his anguish, but I knew that our resources were limited... and besides, I had to teach two adult classes on the day he called. So, I told him that we would try to find a way of helping him. I could conduct his fiance's funeral service without charge. Maybe we could help with some clothing. I didn't know what we could do, but I told him that we would let him know. I made it clear that we would get back to him, but still, he called twice while I was teaching the first class. I knew he was in a panic, but I didn't want to be pushed. I didn't want to get into his life too deeply. I didn't have the time to drive him around town. I had other things to do, and he had already told me about the many dysfunctional people in his world. Besides, the church didn't have enough money to make a real difference in his life, and I had some church members who didn't want me to help him at all. Didn't he know that? I knew that he needed help. I knew that his world had imploded. I knew that he had no one else to turn to- no where else to go- but I didn't have the time or the resources to be his savior. I needed to stick to my priorities, which are preaching, teaching, and visiting church members. Surely, everyone would agree with that.

Well, it doesn't matter now. I won't have to worry about what to do now- at least not with Paul... because he was found dead... in his motel room...earlier this afternoon. Paul was a broken man, and he knew he it. He knew that he had messed up in life, and he didn't blame the world for his own actions. He hadn't improved his lot in life at all, that was clear, but his sincerity touched my heart, and he was deeply in love with two of the few people who stood by him in times of need. He was guilty of addiction, guilty of failing to develop any strategy at all of improving his life, and guilty (in the end) of being extremely poor. None of this was my fault. Nor am I under any illusion that I could've saved him. There is only ONE Savior... BUT I wish I would've done more! Sometimes I write to inform. Sometimes, I write to stir the heart. Sometimes I write to challenge the status quo. Sometimes I write as therapy, Amen!

A TALE OF TWO DEATHS

Last week, our little congregation experienced the sting of death again. Twice.

One of those who passed away was a 42 year old man whom I will call Jim. I didn't know him, but I know that he suffered from mental illness and alcoholism and that he had a hard time fitting in with the world around him. When he was in the throes of his illnesses, Jim was so demanding and insensitive...that many of his own family members were happier when he wasn't around. They loved him, I'm sure, but they didn't understand him. Eventually he left town and made a another life for himself- one that included Alcoholics Anonymous, which is important because... it was in AA where Jim received the most accepting love that he ever knew! His mother told me that, when she picked up her son's belongings, members from his AA club helped her load his things. She appreciated the help... but what really touched her... was the candlelight vigil that they held in his memory. She said that 50 or more of his AA friends gathered in silence and sat quietly... and as the Spirit moved them, one, and then another, would go to the podium... and speak about the love that he or she had for Jim. One after another, Jim's friends told about his importance in their lives, and how much he meant to them. There were moments of silence, moments of tears... and heartfelt testimonies to her son... who had found a place where he was accepted and loved! Being known and loved anyway... is the greatest gift that any of us will ever receive... and her son, who never quite fit in... found a family of recovering drunks... who spoke words of love about a man they were proud to call "friend." Thank God for the fallen saints in AA, who often provide a love that is greater and deeper... than any church group that I've ever known.

The other person who passed away was twice Jim's age. She was the wife of a friend of mine and I had visited her on several occasions- twice at her home and thereafter in the Alzheimer's wing of an Assisted Living center..where she was cared for by those who were paid to do it... and by the man whom she loved. Every day,.. at noon... rain or shine... my friend would visit her, bring her a cookie, and feed her lunch. She enjoyed his visits to the end, but over time, she stopped conversing in a meaningful way... and she came to recognize him mostly, if not entirely, as the nice man who brought her a cookie. When people say that they will love one another for "better or worse," they never really know what either term means, and they certainly don't see themselves sitting together... in a nursing home cafeteria- one with a broken heart and the other with a cookie. Watching a person who had shared your life... eat a cookie that you had given her... without knowing that you... were you... is a painful thing...and listening to someone who had shared your most intimate thoughts...speak words that no longer made sense... is a heartbreaking way to spend a lunch hour. But when you're in love, you do what you have to do... because real love demands it! Last week, Bev took a sudden turn for the worse...so my wife and I called on her and had a prayer with her, even though she was not conscious. We thanked God for her long and faithful life, and we praised Him for breaking the chains that bound her... and her husband... in a tragic dance... which had no rhyme or reason.

I really don't know what I'll say at either one of their funerals... but I know that each of them was loved deeply... by someone whom I love as a pastor. Jim was eulogized by a group of people who are clinging to a second-chance themselves, and Bev shared a cookie with her husband and with her Savior every day at noon, experiencing an acceptance and a grace that go much, much deeper than anything that we can put into words.