Beware of Your Mountain Tops

UV 2876/10000 Beware of Mountain Tops
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Matthew 4 v 8
God deliberately deglamourized His Son Jesus. He was born in a circumstance and surroundings that only the poorest of the poor can afford. He was born without a trace of the glory of His famous ancestor David though in his lineage. He did not have the good looks and physical charm or charisma of modern day leaders or film stars such that none would give Him a second look or desire Him. He grew up in equally modest surroundings and the comforts and challenges of a carpenter’s home. When He was at His physical weakest after forty days of fasting, He was taken by the devil to the highest point where He was just one step away from coming into the power, pomp and glory of this world. Jesus had sought out solitude and wilderness to spend alone time with His Father in heaven and to deeply meditate and study His words. The devil attempted to tempt Him on the three common weaknesses of humanity- the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.
Likewise, when we are taken to the heights of success, position, power and influence, we need to resist the three temptations of our own inner lust and pride of life. It is not always God who takes us to these high points but the enemy of our souls. The latter will attempt to deceive us offering in exchange for our souls, the glory, power, wealth and pleasures of this world. Our senses are so powerful that we will feel overwhelmed unless our spirits wax strong as the Spirit of Jesus waxed strong even as He fasted and prayed continually over forty days and nights. Sometimes, when we are at our spiritual strongest and most mature, we would be so tempted. The sting of sin may be dormant and not dead in us, silent and not visible and the enemy knows how best to awaken it. The word of Jesus is competent to crush the head of the enemy, to defang or remove the sting of the serpent and render him harmless and innocuous. Jesus was so rooted in the word through days and nights of meditation on scripture with specific reference to Deuteronomy chapters 6 to 8 from which He quotes to repel the enemy and counter His deceitful suggestions. The times when we are placed on the peaks of our career, our professions, our achievements, our influence in society and in this perilous world are the times when we must be most spiritually vigilant, most diligent in studying and reflecting on the word and in engaging in faithful prayer or conversation with the Triune and Unique God.
The conversation Jesus had with the enemy is similar and yet a contrast with the conversation Adam and Eve engaged in with the devil. They agreed with the wily foe while Jesus refuted the subtle serpent effectively with the sword of His tongue. Our minds and mouths become quivers and arsenals and our tongues become a sword in the hand of the Spirit of God when we engage in conversation that is based on scripture. To stand on human reasoning as Adam and Eve did is to step on quick sand. The enemy was promising Jesus dizzying heights of glory when what he was intending was a deep plunge or crash into the very depths of hell for all humanity should the one and only designated Saviour, the only Son of the Eternal Father to fall to the perfidy of satan.
Prateep V Philip