A Lesson From The Temptations

After Jesus' baptism, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him, the first thing that He does is goes into the desert. When we reach our greatest moral heights, it is important that we enter next into a time of self-reflection and testing. Spiritual energy is not to be wasted, it must be directed and controlled. Too often when we have our greatest experiences, we just bask in them as the energy slowly dissipates. We try to hold onto the beauty and majesty of the moment. Spiritual experiences are not ends in themselves. The increase in awareness and energy isn't some drug to be enjoyed. It is supposed to motivate us to action. If you are a person who is gifted with a deeper kind of sight, you should ask yourself whether you are taking those higher  experiences and pulling them into the very fabric of your everyday life. Are you living any better? If not, maybe you are wasting the energy you are being given. God has sent you a vision for a reason: use it or lose it. 

Increase Bible study, start working on accomplishing some real moral goals, get reflective, fast, meditate, pray more, and most importantly reach out to other people. These are the activities that you need to be engaging in if you have been gifted with God's presence. Don't just sit there waiting for the next experience. Mystical awareness is great, and I think everyone should cultivate it, but it can become idolatrous. 

In this sense it makes a lot of sense that Lent follows Epiphany. It is a chance to take all that spiritual power and start putting it to good use. Discipline combined with spirituality is life-giving. Spirituality without discipline is a waste. 

After Jesus has fasted, the devil comes to tempt Him. This, too, includes an important lesson. It is often at our highest spiritual moment that the devil will come to test us. In that moment when you have finally overcome a sin, or reached a deeper place in your relationship with God, immediately the sin of pride becomes a real danger. You start thinking about who well you are doing, how God has set you apart, and without knowing it you are worse off than you were before. Spiritual achievement brings with it terrible temptations. Mysticism can so easily, paradoxically, become a masked egoism. That much harder to root out because it so neatly presents itself as being self-negation. Sin is most dangerous when it is subtle. 

It is at the best and worst times in our lives when the devil comes to us. Learning how to navigate his temptations is an important lesson. How does Jesus defeat satan? In their great debate, both beings use the Bible to argue their case. That is important to remember: the devil can cite scripture for his purposes. But whereas the devil keeps putting the focus back on Jesus, Jesus keeps putting the focus back on God. The devil tells Jesus to feed Himself. Jesus talks of the word of God. The devil tells Jesus to display His power for all to see. Jesus says that the power is God's, and God is not to be tested. The devil tells Jesus to seek political power, Jesus says the only power He seeks is the Lord's. The way to avoid spiritual pride is to remember one's own sinfulness and unworthiness. That new power and awareness is a gift from God, and a gift you did not deserve. Keep the focus on God, and what He wants you to do, and you will be able to live the spiritual life to it's fullest, navigating the deep and dangerous waters that are present within it.