When Temptation Comes

It has been a while that I haven't entered a blog on my theological reflections. Perhaps the many changes in work arrangements and preoccupation with various kinds of work load have somehow prevented me to sit down and write. Anyhow, I am indeed grateful to God for the changes that are taking place in our lives.

Last Sunday is the beginning of the Lenten Season and the Gospel reading was in Luke 4: 1-13, where Jesus went to the wilderness and fasted for 40 days. It was also the time when he was there on the mountain that the devil came and tempted him three times. The first temptation is to turn stones into bread, next is to pursue glory and authority through political power and the third is jumping from the pinnacle of a building. It is indeed amazing to note that Jesus, human as he was, hungry, tired and lonely was able to respond to the tempter in a way that gets into the roots of the both the earthly and eternal realities.

On the first he responded, "It is written, human beings do not live by bread alone." It goes straight to the heart and mind that in life we go hungry and crave for food, but food and other material provisions could not satisfy the hungering of human being. This does not mean however that food is non-essential in life. Jesus emphasized that his mission is wholistic and that feeding the hungry would not solve the spiritual problem of greed. The insatiable craving for food for those who have enough reosurces is symptomatic of psychological disturbance such as depression and other mental disorder. "Bread" in this context would also refer to money or economic resources such as land, houses, etc. If we may infer from Jesus' response human beings do not live by bread alone, means that human society must be organized in a manner that primarily attends to physiological needs of people and matched it with ethical nurture.

Secondly, Jesus responded to the temptation of having great political power in the world saying, ..."worship the Lord your God and serve him only." In our contemporary history, we have witnessed how political leaders have been tempted to hold on to power even if they do not serve the interests of the people who put them into power. Worshipping or giving honour and allegiance to the tempter was not Jesus' way to prominence. Well, this is a bribery test for Jesus, but he did not gave in. The worst wars occured and are occuring in the world because political and religious leaders continue to pretend that they're representing the democratic institutions of their nations, however their actions are totally opposite to the very principles that they stand for.

The truth is, this kind of contradictions are not only present in the political arena, there are even worst situations in the homes and work places. There are disgruntled families resulting from parents overpowering each other through use of domestic violence or verbal abuse. There are businessmen who exploit migrant workers in order to gain more profit so that they can be "someone" or outsmart others through their fat bank deposits and investing in China or Vietnam or India.

Thirdy, Jesus replied to the tempter saying, ..."do not put the Lord your God to the test." It is possible that someone may attempt to test another who is far greater than he is. Thus asking ourselves, "can we manipulate God?" or that making God fit into our shoes or personal mould. I have read in the English daily here in Korea that South Korea is the number one in terms of suicide incidence in the world. A social scientist has commented on the high suicide rate in Korea and that she believes that one of the causes of suicide in Korea is depresssion and other mental problems which are not considered as diseases in Korean society. With this youth and adults decide to end their lives. Jumping from a pinnacle of a building is suicide. The tempter would want human beings to follow him, Jesus resisted dying for nothing for that is depreciating life itself.

Every moment of our lives we need to fight these temptations. With God's love and compassion we can surmount the difficult times of our lives.