Tempted
Lead us not into temptation. – Matthew 6:13
What are the things that tempt you? I bet you have a short list of things that call your name. Me? I’m a foodie. I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like. What better way to show my affection than to eat as many as possible as quickly as possible? If I binge, it’s usually sweets. When I binge, it’s usually emotional eating. Unless its Thanksgiving or Christmas, at which point temptation has nothing to do with it – just total lack of control in the face of so much deliciousness!
There is a line of the Lord’s Prayer that has always bothered me as it asks God not to lead us into temptation. The implication is that God would consider leading us into temptation! That’s deeply problematic. Think about it a second. If you have a dear friend that is an alcoholic and you invite them over for dinner, what kind of friend would you be if you had only water for them, but you and the rest were crafting cocktails left and right, throwing ‘em back like it’s 1999? What kind of friend would you be if you offered your struggling friend a drink over and over again throughout the evening? You would not be a very good friend. The alcoholic friend may surmise that you’re not a reliable friend at all, incapable of being considerate of their feelings, health, needs, etc. Not loving.
Because I believe that God’s character is primarily known as loving, representing shalom in all its fulness, I cannot believe that God is capable of tempting us away from love and shalom. If we are feeling tempted, God is not the tempter. Something else is at work. (Note: there is no need to adopt a view of a Satan character trying to seduce you in order to recognize that other forces at play in our lives).
Aramaic scholar and poet Neil Douglas-Klotz has keen insights for us based on the culture and language from which Jesus spoke. Take a slow read of his observations:
These are probably the least understood and, because of the Greek version, the most mistranslated lines in the prayer. In the Aramaic version, no one outside leads us into temptation – least of all God. “Wela tahlan” could be translated “don’t let us enter”, “don’t let us be seduced by the appearance of,” or “don’t let us heap up what is false or illusory in.” “Nesyuna” could be translated temptation, in the Aramaic sense of something that leads to inner vacillation or agitation, diverting us from the purpose of our lives.
The old roots call up the picture of a flag waving in the wind – blown here and there – like a mind rendered uncertain by the seductions of materialism (including spiritual materialism). It is the picture of forgetfulness: a losing of oneself in appearances, a failure to look deeper when the situation calls for it.
We come again to see our limitations as well as the pain and suffering we cause ourselves and the rest of creation. The prayer here reminds us not to forget our origins in creation and the Divine Breath, nor to burn out over all that needs to be done. [The prayer is really asking God,] “Don’t let us be deluded by the surface of life, but neither let us become so inward and self-absorbed that we cannot act simply and humanly at the right time.” The prayer reminds us that sometimes our ideals—including those of holiness, peace, and unity—carry us into the future or the past and make it difficult to be in the present where help is needed now.
Whenever the subject of temptation comes up, I cannot help but think of Jesus’ temptation after he was baptized, just before he began a new chapter of life with his public ministry:
Then the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving. The tempter came to him and said, “Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread.”
Jesus replied, “It’s written, ‘People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God.’”
After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.”
Jesus replied, “Again it’s written, ‘Don’t test the Lord your God.’”
Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said, “I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me.”
Jesus responded, “Go away, Satan, because it’s written, ‘You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him. – Matthew 4:1-11 CEB
Jesus’ temptation narrative is rich with meaning, telling us much about the work Jesus did before (and during) his new chapter in life. The temptations provide a framework for understanding what Jesus was going to face from that point forward. More, the temptations Jesus faced are temptations we all face. Understanding what tempted him will help us understand what temps us and offer ways to respond. What follows is a brief overview of what the temptations were about and the questions they invite us to consider.
Turn stone to bread. Jesus had been fasting a long time. He was hungry. In short, this temptation is about being ruled by physical urges. Food, alcohol, sex, drugs, exercise, sloth – we can create a long list of physical urges. The Stoics of old were constantly conscious of such lures and warned against living a life driven by carnal desires of various kinds. Epicureans were more open to enjoying what life had to offer in its fullness yet also called for wisdom to avoid hedonism. We are all tempted to live our lives reacting to physical urges. What are the ones you struggle with most? How are you tempted to satisfy your cravings?
Jump off a building and call on God to rescue you. This temptation is about wanting to be God. Would God encourage a person to jump off a building in order to “force” God to act? No. The whole thing is a temptation to take the lead. Further, in taking the lead and then calling on God to act as a sign of God’s faithfulness is a manipulative maneuver, pushing God to endorse our agenda. Religious people do this all the time and are infamous for it. A thousand years ago the Church decreed that non-white people were biologically inferior to white people and were ordained by God to live as servants and slaves, subjugated by ruling whites. The Church spoke as God and therefore followers assumed God was endorsing their horrible, racist beliefs. We see this happening today with the rise of Christian Nationalism. Strong social media posts assuming the voice of God are all over the place, often sounding more like the Jewish leaders who Jesus confronted than Jesus himself. How have you assumed that God endorses your agenda? What are your criteria? The Bible? (Hint: quoting Bible verses supporting your position is not enough since you can make a case for nearly anything using the Bible). How much does God actually agree with your agenda? Do you care? (Hint: if your motivation, means, and end is shalom, you’re more likely to be more aligned with God).
Bow down and gain the world. This temptation has to do with which worldviews we adopt for our lives. Bowing down to Satan, in this case, was to say yes to everything God was not. What might that look like today? If shalom exemplifies the Spirit of God, then anti-shalom is what we need to watch out for. Power at the expense of others. Greed. Abuse. Self-centeredness. And more. The question we need to keep asking ourselves is, how are we tempted away from shalom? Currently, Christian Nationalism claims to represent God’s desire, yet it reeks of abusive power, celebrates dominance, is led by those who have been historically dishonest, greedy, and immoral on multiple fronts. Just because Christian language is used in the rhetoric does not make it Christian. As evangelist Billy Sunday once quipped, sitting in church does not make you a Christian any more than sitting in your garage make you an automobile. Similarly, shalom-bathed language does not make attitudes and behaviors shalom-aligned. On the regular you can turn on the news and hear political leaders using very faith-saturated language as they call for the dehumanization of “others” including the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and anyone who stands up for their rights – the “woke”. Remember, in the temptation narrative, Satan quoted scripture. If your measure for whether or not what you are thinking and doing is if you can make it sound Christian, you’re fooling yourself. What is the temptation here? How are you being tempted to follow the way of the world instead of the Way of Jesus, the Way of shalom?
The application of Jesus’ temptation story can be applied broadly. Of course, we are responsible for our own lives and are constantly invited by the Spirit of God to choose shalom as our means and end. But what about our relationships? Our family systems? Our work environments? Our community? Our nation? Our churches and faith traditions? Our government? The temptations are present in every sector. So is the woo of God.
Unripeness. I found Douglas-Klotz’s use of the word unripeness intriguing. It assumes that there are times when we may be tempted to partake too soon, before the fruit is ripe and ready. At other times, we may be too late with what is needed – the fruit is over ripe and no longer fit for consumption. Unripeness is not only in bad taste but can cause physical harm. Being aware of unripeness is to be conscious of timing. There will always be the temptation to do nothing when something needs to be done. There will also be the temptation to rush when we need to wait. Wisdom pays attention to these variables. Beware, however, that in your patience you do not delay justice for people whose lives are in the balance. How many people have suffered over the centuries because good people did nothing, or too late? How many people suffer now for the same reason?
May you take some time to consider a poetic interpretation of “Lead us not into temptation” offered by Neil Douglas-Klotz rooted in Jesus’ language and culture. May you find yourself more aware of the temptations you face and what they are really about. May you sense the nudge of God every step of the way that leads toward a life of love, peace, justice and harmony for all.
“Remembrance”
By Neil Douglas-Klotz
Don’t let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back
(from our true purpose).
Don’t let us enter forgetfulness,
the temptation of false
appearances.
(To the fraud of inner vacillation –
like a flag tossed in the wind –
alert us.)
But break the hold of unripeness,
the inner stagnation that
prevents good fruit.
(From the evil of injustice –
the green fruit and the rotten –
grant us liberty.)
Deceived neither by the outer
nor the inner – free us to
walk your path with joy.
Keep us from hoarding false wealth,
and from the inner shame of
help not given in time.
Don’t let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back.
Douglas-Klotz, Neil. Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the Original Meaning of Jesus' Words (pp. 34-36). Kindle Edition.