Playing Super Mario Brothers With the Devil

Suggested Reading: Matthew 4:1-11

When the original Nintendo Entertainment System came out, like millions of other people, our family bought one and I became really good at playing Super Mario Bros. At the end of level 1-2, the player faced a choice: go to the next level, or warp directly to levels 2, 3, or 4. When I first started playing I would always warp to level 4 because I could get to the end of the game faster. Eventually, though, I discovered that if I went to level 3 instead, there was a particular spot where I could rack up hundreds of lives and had a better chance of actually winning the game once I got to the end. If I took the biggest shortcut, I could get to the end faster. But if I took the slightly longer route I was more likely to win the game. Once I decided my goal was to win the game and not simply to get to the end, I started going the slightly longer route every time.

At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he also faced the choice of taking a shortcut or going the longer route. When he was tempted by the devil, the devil's second and third temptations both contained shortcuts to what the devil thought was Jesus'goal. Notice how these temptations played out:  first, the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. ’”  and second,  the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me" (Matthew 4:5-6, 8-9, NLT).  Both of these were shortcuts to fame and power. If Jesus had jumped off the highest point of the temple and was caught by angels, people would have seen Jesus and likely proclaimed him the Messiah because he had come from the sky, carried by angels. If Jesus had worshipped the devil in order to gain control of all the kingdom's of the world (I'm not certain the devil could legitimately offer that), Jesus could have imposed his will on the population of the world.

But the devil missed one crucial detail: Jesus's goal was not to take over the world but rather to win over the world through his death on the cross. Yes, eventually the world will bow before him while every tongue proclaims he is Lord. But the process by which that happens was just as important as the end result. In fact, without the process of suffering and dying on the cross, Jesus could "take over" the world but we could never be with him the way he wants.

The next time you are tempted to take a shortcut through life, take a look at your goals. Shortcuts are great for getting you to the end faster, but if the shortcut undermines your ultimate goal, if it causes you to miss something vital for the future, beware. Such shortcuts often see our goals cut short.

Goading Jesus Into a Middle School Fight

Suggested Reading: Matthew 4:1-11

In junior high, I had a run in with a student who was much larger than me. I was in the cafeteria before school with a friend who was trying to mess with me by marking on my book covers. I marked on his in return only to discover that the books in front of my friend were not his at all. They belonged to a much larger individual who was not happy with me...and I had unknowingly marked on his Malcolm X doodle.  He wanted me to fight him then and there but I refused, insisting that I had thought the book was my friend's and that I intended no disrespect. When the bell rang, this student followed me down the hall, hitting me in the back of the head every few feet. Later, at lunch, he cornered me and pushed me off the two-foot cement wall I had been sitting on. I "ninja rolled" back into a standing position and sat down as if nothing had ever happened. He was trying to goad me into a fight, attempting to embarrass me and make me angry, and I refused to play his way. I refused to allow him to dictate my actions. Two days later, when I was asked about a rumor that I was a second degree black belt (I wasn't), I simply responded, "That's why I don't have to fight."

I am not the only one who has ever been the object of manipulation, who was goaded by someone wanting a specific response. In Matthew chapter 4, we read the account of the temptations of Jesus. A common theme running through the Devil's first two temptations was an attempt to goad Jesus into doing something. In the first temptation, the devil said,  “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” in the second temptation, he said,  “If you are the Son of God, jump off [this cliff]." (Matthew 4:3,6, NLT). In both instances, the devil tried to goad Jesus by getting him to prove himself, but that tactic only works on the insecure, on people who are uncertain of themselves and their gifts. If you are secure in who you are, those kinds of attacks cannot work.

That junior high student was unable to goad me into fighting because I knew who I was and refused to be manipulated. Jesus refused as well, knowing that the enemy's manipulation had no real power and that he had no need to prove himself. This should be our standard mode of operation. We have no need to prove ourselves, we must only be concerned with obeying the Father.

Rest secure in who you are as a child of the Father. Don't let anyone goad you into sin.