The third temptation that Christ faced in the desert as he began to shape his ministry was that of placing worldly power and might ahead of allegiance to God. Jesus was led to a very high mountain and was shown the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. The Tempter promised Jesus that these could all be his if Jesus dropped his allegiance to God and turned instead to worship the prince of this world. (Matthew 4:8-10 and Luke 4:5-8)
The people at the time were ready for a military messiah, one who could rally the people together to oust foreign intervention and reestablish a separate and sovereign people. It would have been easier to rise to power on a platform of revolution in response to this need than on a platform forming a world-wide community based on the love of God.
Is there really such a difference between the two systems? God inspired Isaiah to write on this, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)
There is nothing wrong with having geographical divisions of space such as countries, states, provinces, cities, towns and streets. It makes finding things a lot easier, helps the postal service deliver things, and provides game shows with challenging questions. But when these divisions grow into collective egos called nations that become dysfunctional, we create fertile ground for racism, greed, economic imbalance, preferential treatment, and exploitation - things that are not of God, but of man. People begin to coagulate around fear-based causes and principles that separate one people from another; creating short-sighted vision that eventually turns into provincial blindness.
Man's tendency is to divide. He does so out of fear. He forms separate groups for safety, identity and pride. If my group is more powerful than your group, he reasons, then we are safer, we are better, and you are not. God's tendency, however, is to unite. He does so out of love. If we realize that we are all members of the same family, all brothers and sisters, then fear is destroyed, and we can build systems to make sure everyone has enough food, clothing, shelter, medical care, healthy relationships, and other truly human aspects of life. We can help each other become who God made us to be, serving Him in this world in our own unique way based on the special gifts he has given to each one of us.
It is a classic choice we all face today - should we live according to God's rules, or our own? Jesus' response to this temptation was to reiterate, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." Perhaps one day we will all become one family, a place where, as St. Paul writes, "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together." (1 Corinthians 12:26)
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