Satan is playing hardball with Jesus. He comes with three final temptation doozies after 40 days of temptation. Think about it – if Jesus, the Son of God, is not exempt from temptation, then who is?
Lent's a good time to be reminded that's why we pray, fast, and give alms. Those are designed to help you and me overcome temptation, to be anything less than the best version of ourselves. Satan's message is clear. "Get all you can, Jesus. Look at the splendor, look at the sparkle. It's all yours. Don't worry about God, don't worry about pleasing Him. Please yourself, Jesus. That'll make you happy. Simply worship me."
The devil is all about getting. He's about getting because the more we focus on getting, what we think life should be, the less and less life we actually have. You can call it acquisition; you can call it purchasing; you can call it consuming. Call it what you want, but you and I live in a culture of getting.
Getting, getting even, getting my way, getting what's mine, getting while the getting's good, getting all I can, getting what I want out of life, getting, getting, getting. And no matter how much we get, we still want more. We get what we want, and life's still not right. Our soul’s not settled, our heart's not satisfied. We want more revenge, we want more assets, we want to get more pleasure. We are a culture of getters.
Reminds me about the little boy, Brian, at the birthday party. His mother was about to serve the cake when he shouted, "I want the biggest piece!" She replied, "Brian, it's not polite to ask for the biggest piece." So he looked at the floor and he said, "Well, then how do I get it?"
It's not Brian. There's just something in our souls that always wants to get more. But it's crucial to understand as Lent begins. The devil is about getting. Jesus is about giving. "Don't try to get life," Jesus says. "Give your life away, and when you do then you'll find it." Because life is not about us. It's about God. As long as we focus on ourselves, our needs, our wants, our passion, our spirit, our desires, we'll never actually find what life is about. That's the irony, isn't it?
So when Satan offers the world, Jesus replies, "Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him." Because Jesus understood you can only have one master. You can serve whatever you choose, your passion, your desires, all the world's stuff, or you can serve God. "Just know," Jesus says, "that to serve anything other than God is to choose Satan." In other words, do you want life? Give it away. That's why Lent's just so powerful. It's about these simple habits: pray, fast, give. Habits that help you give your life away to God. When you invest your heart, when you invest your money, when you invest your life in God, then you will find life.
Let me share an example about someone who understands that. Matt was a forklift driver. He lived near Detroit. He worked as a forklift driver for most of his adult life. Even when he was 78, he was still driving that lift. He lived in a one-bedroom apartment, drove an old Ford Escort, didn't take vacations. What did he do? Matt gave his money away. Over the course of his lifetime, he'd given more than $1 million to church ministries and educational scholarships. He said, "Big house, big car? That doesn't excite me. Giving is my joy." Funny who understands that. A 78-year-old forklift driver.
Look around you. There’s a war going on in Ukraine. women and children are leaving their homes by the millions while their husbands stay to fight for freedom. The Ukrainian people in our country are collecting food and medicine to send to their families in a war torn country. The devil is about getting. Jesus is about giving.
A lot can happen in 40 days of Lent. How are you going to use yours? What are you going to do with your 40 days? Jesus is inviting you to give your life away, and when you do, you just might find that you have more life than you ever had before.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, keep safe the mothers and children who are running for their life to safety to other countries, bless the volunteers from all nations who welcome the refugees into their homes, and watch over the men who are willing to give their life for freedom and bring their spouses and children back home to Ukraine.
