The Temptation of Physical Needs

Snickers likes to say that you’re not you when you’re hungry.

While that makes for great marketing it is lined with inaccuracies. The fact of the matter is that whether we are starving from missing meals or just getting up from the Thanksgiving table there always is an underlying desire that we all wrestle with – MORE.

This drive for more does not stop at food. It manifests itself as that urge to add as much to our financial portfolio as possible because in our minds if we just get to that “figure” we will be satisfied. All the while knowing full and well that when we get there the goal simply moves further down the field. It often wraps itself with four tires and all the bells and whistles available on the road because our vehicles define us. I mean, who out there wants to ride around in a 20 year old Mercury when there are new models just calling our names.

An exercise that proves to be invaluable is by intentionally taking the time to look up from the immediate need you think exists and extending the vision to a longer time band. The current culture is fixed on the immediate gratification mindset and breaking free from that is difficult. The world around us will beg, plead, and yell at us to take care of our immediate needs now as there are no guarantees for tomorrow and if we don’t look out for ourselves no one else will. To combat this head on we need to look to someone with wisdom beyond our finite human minds - enter Jesus!

Whenever this account is covered there is a temptation to minimize the fact that Jesus had gone 40 days without any nourishment before being tempted. While Jesus was fully God it is important to remember that at the same time He was fully man as well. The level of hunger He was facing at this moment would be more than the average person could begin to imagine. Yet in a moment where the entire world would not blame Him for filling His own needs He chose to focus on the great mission and quickly went to the ultimate Truth - the Word of God.

The way that Jesus combated the lies from the evil one was not with brute strength or force; He chose to tackle lies directly with Truth. The Truth in this instance shows us His alignment with the overall plan and He was able to circumvent His current circumstances by locking in on the greater goal.

Believers recognizing that we have access to the same power should give us encouragement. While life would be easier if the temptations would not exist in the first place, that is simply not reality. Physical temptations will rear their ugly heads along our journey, and most likely they will show up when we are at our physical weakest, and it is at these moments that we must decide whether or not we will give into those temptations or look past our current circumstances and recognize there is so much more at stake than simply fulfilling our current needs. Following in this path is not easy, but it is better!

Questions to Consider

1. In what ways do modern societal pressures about 'having more' reflect the temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness?
2. Can you identify a time when immediate gratification seemed more appealing than long-term benefits?