I'll give you everything....

In the events of Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was hungry, starving, exhausted and hot, wandering the wilderness of Judea.  For forty days, he had nothing to eat... and in that moment of absolute physical weakness, Satan believed he had an opportunity to derail Jesus.  He wanted to cause Jesus to stumble, to sin.  After all, it would take only what we would think of as the "smallest of sins" on Jesus' part to annihilate any hope for mankind.  The only reason Jesus could die on the cross and take away all our sins, and the punishment that came with them, is because He is sinless.  One misstep and humanity has lost salvation and the chance to be defined, not by our failings, but by God's perfection.  It had worked with Adam, so Satan thought he could swing it again with Jesus.

I find his third, and final, attempt to cause Jesus to sin particularly interesting:

"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.'" 

- Matthew 4:8-9(NIV)

Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world - that means he offered Jesus Rome in the height of its power, the Chinese empire under the Han dynasty, the Kushan Empire, the 3 Kingdoms of Korea, Yayoi Japan, all the tribes of Africa and North America... essentially, Satan offered the whole of the world to Jesus, just for the "teeny-tiny" price of worshiping the Father of Lies.  

What I find interesting is that Satan offers Jesus something that is not his to provide.  Genesis 2:4(NIV) states that "the LORD God made the earth and the heavens," i.e., God made everything.  That means everything is His and all that we might perceive we "have" is something God has given to us.  So how can Satan offer the kingdoms of this world?  Jesus, who states "I and the Father are one" in John 10:30(NIV), already possesses all the world.

But isn't that how Satan always works?  He offers us ANYTHING and EVERYTHING so that we will go along with his little whispered suggestions in our ear.  He offers you FUN; he offers you JOY; he offers you LOVE; he offers you SATISFACTION; he offers you PEACE; he offers you MEANING; he offers you PLEASURE... he suggests that a life in Christ can't give you this.  "Jesus is boring; Jesus isn't fun; Jesus can't give you the love you need; if you follow Jesus you can't HAVE what you really want and need; Jesus only makes demands, He can't give you peace..." Satan whispers... and over and over again we buy it.  With our words and actions we bow down and worship the things of this life, convinced they will give us fun, joy, love, satisfaction, peace, meaning, pleasure... but these are things that are not Satan's to provide.

"Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

- James 1:16-17(NIV)

This world can never provide you with the desires of your heart.  The things that are offered here are pale, weak imitations of the life God wants to give you, of the life Jesus died to give you.  You know what Jesus said to Satan's offer?

"Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 

- Matthew 4:10(NIV)

For whom Christ died....

When I was in my early twenties, I had a revelation about interacting with people.  That revelation was this: just because something someone did was irritating to me or was awkward... didn't mean I had a right to treat them however I wanted.  It didn't even mean there was really anything they were doing that was wrong!  Now, looking that thought over, some of you may think "duh" or "well of course," even I'm thinking that!  After all, I had heard similar statements before and verbally professed agreement with them.  I had never been a bully growing up, nor had I been part of any sort of "exclusive" social group, despite being both a jock/musician/nerd in high school.  Nonetheless... I cannot help but think that I have often in the past lived in disagreement with this, and I see others do this all the time, no matter if they're children or past retirement.  If you're honest with yourself, I think you'll agree you've lived in contradiction to this statement, too, despite your best intentions.  Now how so?

Think of that guy or girl in high school.  You know the one.  They weren't necessarily disliked by anyone... but nor were they really anyone's friend.  They tended to sit by themselves or hang onto the fringes of a social group that they weren't really a part of.  They may have not showered as much as they should; they may have been physically awkward or uncoordinated; they may have been overly talkative about anything and everything or just about that one thing that no one else cared about.  They may have seemed slightly immature for their age; they may have dressed in a way that was very "uncool" or simply unflattering.  Maybe they just had a habit or way or functioning that irritated you.  Whatever the reason, when you got into a conversation with them, one of two things happened:

1. You listened politely, all the while squirming inside, trying to find a way out of the conversation, not really caring what the person said.  If you saw them coming, you would try to find a way to avoid them so you would have to endure spending time with them. Or:
2. The way they talked or acted rapidly irritated you, so you would endure them or get snappish with them until you could get rid of them, then talked with others about how irritating they were and how you couldn't understand why they acted the way they did.

But, if you reflect honestly back on this person's actions, ask yourselves this: is there really anything they said or did that was inherently wrong?  Or were you choosing not to like someone simply because they were outside your comfort zone or sucked at socializing?  I hate to admit that oftentimes I have not spent the time on someone simply because they were socially awkward or inept.  I have subconsciously labeled them as not worth my attention because they didn't fit the picture my society has built in me of how a person should behave and talk.

What does the Bible say about this?  In Romans 12:16(NIV), the Apostle Paul writes, "Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited."  But the Bible does not stop there.  Our society can concede to this concept at some level.  Of course we should treat people with respect and not judge them just because they're "different."  That's intolerance!

The Bible takes it a step further: 

"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengence is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'  To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals on his head.'  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." 

(Romans 12:17-21)

Did you read that?  

"Repay no one evil for evil."

"So far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."

"Never avenge yourselves."

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink."

"Overcome evil with good."

So we're not just talking about befriending the socially rejected kid.  We're talking about treating well:

1. The guy that accelerates so you can't change lanes in traffic and causes you to miss your turn.
2. The woman constantly accelerating and decelerating in front of you because she's too busy on her cell phone.
3. The girl who spreads gossip about you until everyone in the school knows your embarrassing secret.
4. The girlfriend or boyfriend who has betrayed your trust.
5. The parent who has chosen their career or other things over you or your family.

Wow!  These are hard things!!  How are we to do all this?  Philippians 2:13(NIV) says, "it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."  You are made able to do all this because GOD HIMSELF is working in your heart to make you capable of desiring to do what He has called you to.  He has not given us this incredibly difficult calling in a vacuum and then left us to figure out how to make it work. Rather, He sent Jesus to actually SHOW us how the Christian life is to be lived:

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

    did not consider equality with God  something to be grasped,

 

but made himself nothing,

    taking the very nature of a servant,

    being made in human likeness.

 

And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    and became obedient to death—

        even death on a cross!"

(Philippians 2:5-8)

What is more, Paul wrote in Romans 8:9b(ESV), "The Spirit of God dwells in you."  He hasn't left you high and dry, trying to figure out how to emulate Christ, but He has actually entered into your heart to be present with you every day and help you "discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2b)  So when you face that socially awkward person, or that person who has genuinely hurt you... God is facing them with you, giving you the ability to treat them with kindness, no matter if they deserve it or not.

I close with this final note: this does not mean you have to be best friends with everyone you encounter.    Should you be inviting over for sleepovers people that hurt and abuse you emotionally?  That's not what this passage is asking.  Instead, the passage is telling us that no matter how others treat us, we have a choice to treat them better than they treat us.  If someone treats you disrespectfully, confront them on it!  But when you do it, do it with kindness and respect.  No insults, no cut-downs, just truth, remembering always that they, like you, are someone for whom Christ died.

Job 17-20...

The last few chapters of Job have been a series of discussions between Job and his friends.  Their names are: Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  In Job 2, the passage recounts that they heard all of the horrible things that had happened to Job, and in verse 11(ESV), the author writes "They made an appointment together to come to show him[Job] sympathy and comfort him."  In the following chapters, they offer their "comfort" to Job.  That comfort essentially comes down to them pointing out that God only punishes the sinful, that the righteous are protected by God and prosper.  In other words, they were telling Job that he had brought God's wrath on himself, that he deserved the death of his children and the loss of his wealth for some hidden, evil deed he had committed or was committing.  They went on to say he needed to stop being arrogant and blaming God and repent of the sin that was bringing God's wrath upon him.

The first thing that came into my mind was this: these are Job's friends.  They are among the people that are supposed to love him most.  In our society, friends often play a central role in our lives and decision making.  Starting in middle school and moving on into high school and college, youth and young adults are in a stage of development where they are turning to others for affirmation and support, rather than their parents.  Though the severity of this peer-focus I think has diminished somewhat as I've gotten older, I'm not convinced it's faded entirely.

In Job's society, the opinion of your family and friends was even more important than it is, today.  How can I justify that statement?  While I am not saying that somehow, emotionally, ancient people valued their friends and family more than we are capable of today, I am saying that the necessity of family and friend support was much greater.  There were no "inalienable rights" back then.  You couldn't just travel as you wished and expect not to be treated poorly.  In ancient societies, your family was your protection.  A person without family or friends was the victim, and usually slave, of any stronger man that came along and wanted to abuse them.  Job, having lost all his children (who would have supported him in his older years), and having lost all of his wealth, which would have bought him security in his old age as well, could not afford to alienate his friends.

Yet Job, knowing that his friends were giving him poor advice, did not meekly go along with them, though they were all he really had left in the world.  Instead, he stated boldly to them "miserable comforters are you all" (Job 16:1b) and that he "shall not find a wise man among you" (Job 17:10b).

Who, rather, did he turn to for truth and understanding?  After going through a list of all those who had once loved him, but now can't stand him, Job says in 19:25-26(ESV), "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God."  Job's hope was in God and in His redemption.

This brings to mind 1 John 4:1-2(ESV) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God."  Just as Job knew to turn to God and His promises for truth, we can turn to the message of Jesus revealed in the Bible to help us understand all the sorts of "advice" that are given to us in our day-to-day lives.  Our culture may tell us we need to be thin, we need to be trendy, we need to have the newest and best technology, we need to be wealthy, we need to be liked, we need to be well-known to be thought a "good person," but as Job turned to his creator for truth and affirmation in the face of what his friends told him... so we, too, can turn to God to learn our true value, "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

Job 10-13...

The verse that stuck out to me in today's study is one that has always jumped out at me when reading this portion of Job.  Job has just received a lot of advice from his friends, who came to see him after all the horrible things that had happened to him.  Their advice essentially said that he had somehow brought this judgement on himself, and he needed to repent of whatever wrongdoing he was in so that God would once again bring him into His good favor.  This reflected a common viewpoint of the time that earthly blessings were a sign of God's good favor for a righteous person, so therefore you must have sinned somehow to deserve bad things that had happened to you.  (This view was prevalent in Jewish culture, as well, and is why the disciples asked Jesus "who sinned" about a man who was blind from birth in John 9.  To this, Jesus responded in John 9:3(ESV) "Neither this man nor his parents sinned...but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.")

But to get back to Job, he rebuked his friends for their statements, going on to say in Job 13:15(ESV), "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him."  This response to his friends, as well as the rebuke of his wife to "curse God and die" in Job 2, absolutely floors me.  Imagine yourself in Job's position.  Imagine yourself one of the most renowned people in all the world.  You have more money than you know what to do with; you have the million dollar house with tons of property in the nicest place you could imagine to live; you have every kind of car you've ever wanted; you're married with children who are nearly as successful as you and are very close to one another; you have tons of friends who care deeply for you.  Then, in one day, you lose all of it.  Your children all die at once in a tragic accident, your cars are all stolen or destroyed, your spouse tells you you might as well die, your friends tell you that you are cursed by God for doing something awful when you know you've done nothing wrong.  Then, you become chronically ill.  

But to all this, do you blame God?  Do you lose faith?  Not if you're Job.  Job contends God could go even a step further and kill him, but he would still "hope in Him."  Wow.  I don't know about you, but I have gotten angry at God for not being able to find my car keys when I'm late for work or when petty things don't go my way.  Reading the story of Job really puts things into perspective for me.  Let me type it again:

"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him."

But how do we maintain this faithfulness in a broken world, where it seems like every day the world conspires to destroy our faith?  I remind myself of the promise of God in 1 Corinthians 10:12b(ESV) "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

No temptation, even the temptation to blame God and lose faith, is uncommon.  What is more, as I look at this verse, what stands out is this: 

1. God always limits what bad things can be done to you.
2. God provides the means for you to endure evil.

You do not face the darkness in this world alone, but He that created all the universe goes before you into the darkness to show the way, walks beside as you face it, and follows behind you to bring you through it.  No matter what you face... remember that.  The voices of doubt may say that God has abandoned you, that you are alone... but those voices are lying.  You are never alone.