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The Long Spoon
It was the most epic
confrontation in history.
Dramatic in its
setting; cosmic in its dimensions.
The powerful and
subtle foe had already triumphed over the human race once. In a beautiful
garden of perfection, his wiles had worked wonders. Man, in doubt and
disobedience, had fallen.
This was different.
The Son of Man,
weakened by 40 days without food, had been led by the Holy Spirit, not into
a lush and idyllic garden, but into a barren and rugged wilderness. In Jesus’ physical
weakness, the evil one would strike.
When Al Pacino
masterfully portrayed the devil in The Devil’s Advocate, he
sneeringly smiles in the closing line of the film, “Vanity, definitely my
favorite sin.”
And so it is that
art so often imitates spiritual life.
Satan used his
fondest and most powerful weapon in that wilderness.
Pride.
CS Lewis called it the
greatest sin, and so it is the devil’s favorite. Satan knows the heart of
man nearly as well as God does.
The tempter taunted
Jesus, “turn these rocks into bread.” Not too hard for the Son of God. He
takes him to Jerusalem, the highest point of the temple and challenges
Jesus, “jump! The scriptures say God will send his angels to hold you up.
You won’t even hurt your foot.”
You can feed
yourself. You can save yourself … if you are truly the Son of God. You have
the ability to defy nature and its laws - use it!
Jesus parried the
devil’s quotes with scripture of his own.
Satan saved his
strongest attack for last. Here would be the ultimate appeal to pride and
vanity.
It must be
irresistible.
Political power.
Satan shows Jesus
all the kingdoms of the world in a single moment. In all their glory and
power. “I will give these all to you,” Satan whispers, “if you will bow
down and worship me.”
The supreme Faustian
bargain.
Jesus rebukes the
devil. “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship
the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’” (Matthew 4:10).
Satan left to fight
another day.
It wouldn’t be the
last time he’d use vanity and pride - and politics - to try and derail
Jesus and his mission. When the people attempted to crown him king, Jesus
eluded them. He didn’t trust people because he understood human nature. He
knew what the fallen condition was. That’s what he’d come to redeem.
Jesus didn’t come to
reform politics or elect a president. He came to transform the human heart
and secure our eternal salvation through his death on the cross. He didn’t
come to celebrate earthly government; he came to establish a heavenly
kingdom.
Government is
ordained of God. Politics is important. It’s not our Savior and bitterly
disillusioned will be every Christian who places his faith in the vote and
the elected.
The politicization
of the church has been a danger ever since Constantine the Great promoted
Christianity as the unofficial religion of the Roman empire. Most church
pastors know just enough about politics to be easily manipulated by
politicians who would use the church for their own partisan ends. But
beware:
“He who sups with
the devil should have a long spoon.”
The beguilements of
political power are subtle. Jesus and Satan know that. We convince
ourselves that our spiritual warfare is political. The stakes go up and the
rationalizations for moral compromise becobme greater and more compelling.
Soon, without knowing it, we are flying too close to the political flame.
As we enter this
fall campaign season, let’s do some soul searching. Let’s resist the
temptation of power. Will we enter the voting booth this November as
followers of Jesus Christ or with a lesser allegiance? Who is the true King
of our hearts? Our minds? Our lives? How do we reach our beliefs? Who - or
what - informs our politics?
James warns us that
we cannot have it both ways. We cannot be the friends of this world and
still be friends with God (James 4:4). Moses chose to be oppressed with
God’s people rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of political power -
better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt
(Hebrews 11:25-26).
We must choose the
priorities of our lives. Politics and power shouldn’t be first.
The challenge and
duty of the Church of Jesus Christ - of all believers - is to be the conscience
of a nation. And of its leaders. We cannot speak truth to power when power
has us in its grasp - when the tentacles of prestige, respectability,
influence and fame have strangled courage, conviction and conscience.
John the Baptist
might have been invited to spend the night in the king’s palace. Instead,
he publicly condemned Herod for living in sin with his brother’s wife. It
didn’t go well for John.
Nathan the prophet
could have been in David’s inner circle of advisors, currying favor and uttering
sweet nothings. Instead, he pointed his long finger of conscience and
judgment at the King and proclaimed, “thou art the man!”
One of Billy
Graham’s most embarrassing moments - and deepest regrets - was listening to
Richard Nixon’s tawdry, expletive-laced anti - Semitism and remaining
silent for fear of losing his friendship with the most powerful man on
earth.
Graham later
apologized and admitted he had often been blinded by political power. It is
a lesson his son - and other evangelical leaders - would do well to
remember - and learn from.
God help us to
resist the siren call of political power.
Let us remain true
to Christ and our Christian conscience.
“America,” wrote GK
Chesterton, “is a nation with the soul of a church.”
Let the church be
the nation’s soul - and guard it.
Watch out for the
long spoon.
May God bless you
and your family.
In His Grace,
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