The second temptation of Christ. The devil attacks our emotional needs. The devil loves to attack our pride. The devil also loves to misuse Scripture. The devil is quoting Psalm 91 here but he left out the qualifier; "in all your ways." We do not walk under the shadow of the Almighty without first abiding in the shelter of the Most High. How did the serpent engage Eve in the conversation in the garden? By lying about what God had said:
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?" -- Genesis 3: 1 (NLT)
The devil knew full well that was not what God had said. He also knew full well the entire context of Psalm 91 when he was tempting Christ. We need to understand that the enemy knows God's Word probably better than most of us. He will mix just enough truth with just enough poisoned lies meant to kill us if we swallow it. Eve swallowed it and man fell. Jesus, who led a sinless life, of course did not fall for it. That led to the third temptation:
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." -- Matthew 4: 8-9 (NIV)
Just as the devil loves to attack our physical and emotional needs -- he also attacks our material needs constantly. We live in a hyper-competitive world where the ruling philosophy is "he who dies with the most toys wins." Yet how many superstars do we see committing suicide or dying far too early from drug abuse, illegal or prescription? How many people who seemingly have met the worlds standards for happiness and fulfillment yet lead miserable and empty lives? We are greedy people and the devil loves to play off that greed. In the Book of Acts there was a couple that was part of the early church who succumbed to this satanic temptation:
But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife's consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, "Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren't lying to us but to God!" -- Acts 5: 1-4 (NLT)
Why do any of us allow Satan to so fill our hearts? Just as Baal was the most popular idol worshipped in ancient times, Mammon is number one today. Realize that this transcends money beloved. This is Satan selling us on anything of value in this world. It is an attempt to get us to value the temporal riches of earth over the eternal riches of heaven. All one has to do is look to the plethora of prosperity gospels out there perverting the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said you cannot love the things of this earth. We cannot serve two masters. Paul addressed the plague of prosperity preaching as well:
You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us. 2Corinthians 2: 17 (NLT)
