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March 8, 2022Then he [the devil] took Him [Jesus] up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to Him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours if you worship me.” Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘you shall worship the Lord, your God, and Him alone shall you serve.’” Luke 4: 5-8
Remember what the devils only weapons are: fear, lies, and temptations. He uses two of these weapons in this second temptation. He lies to Christ by telling Him that he [the devil] has the power and authority to give Jesus power and glory over the kingdoms of the world, and he tries to tempt Jesus into worshiping him in exchange for that power. Of course, Jesus knows the devil has no power to give anything away and since Jesus is God, He is fully aware of who everyone is called to worship. But how often do we fall into this temptation? A lot.
Think of all the times we chased power, honor, and glory and prioritized those things over what truly matters: our relationship with God and our family. Too many of us have put our careers ahead of God and family; our reputations in silly things like sports, various organizations, school functions, etc. can mean more to us than our reputation before almighty God; many are quick in sharing their accomplishments to a room full of people but never talk about their faith. We’re tempted all the time to both chase and hold on to power and glory every day. The devil loves this! God calls us to be better.
To start with, we must look at what “success” means. Is someone successful if they make over a certain amount of money? Is someone successful if they have a certain job title? Is success measured by the size of one’s house, their property value, the car they drive, where they vacation, or the clothes they wear? No. None of this is what makes us successful in the spiritual life, which is all that matters. In the eyes of the world, that is led by Satan, then yes, these things above are what make you successful and powerful; but, like all things do in the world, they will die and come to an end. There’s only one luggage rack on a hearse. The only things that come with us into the next life is our relationship with God and our relationships with each other.
What is success in the eyes of the Lord? Read Matthew 25: 35-46, the corporal works of mercy. Someone who prioritizes the works of mercy in their life is successful. The husband and wife who love their children and build up their domestic church is successful. The intentional disciple of Jesus who evangelizes others and invites people to encounter the risen Jesus at Holy Mass is successful. The intentional disciple of Jesus who never misses Sunday Mass, goes to confession regularly every 4-6 weeks, and gives their time, talent, and treasure to the Church is successful. Everything else is nice but should supplement your growth in holiness. Houses, food, cars, jobs, etc. are all great, but worthless if you spend your life in sin and being selfish. Those who work hard to be comfortable in this life without caring about the life to come will spend eternity being uncomfortable in hell.
Jesus is teaching us in this temptation to put God first. To not chase power and glory, rather chase the things of heaven. You will find, and this is a guarantee, that when you start prioritizing the things of heaven over the things of earth, life is much less stressful and unhappy. When we prioritize our growth in the spiritual life, we take up our Cross just like Christ because we know that suffering is not the end. When we prioritize our relationships with God and our family and friends, we won’t care as much about “power” and “glory” because we will recognize how blessed we are and that we have the power of God in our midst.
My sisters and brothers in Christ, work on your spiritual lives and become the saints God is calling each of us to be. The goal is for us to become saints who will inspire saints to build the kingdom of God with us. Start today!
