Day 23 - Avoid becoming a glutton for punishment
Scripture focus: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Matthew 4:1-3 NIV
Recently I listened as someone shared their moral inventory with me (see information about this fifth step process on our web site www.northstarcommunity.com ). Abuse, neglect, and massive amounts of suffering were consistent themes.
"Wow." I said at story's end. Then I let the tears flow.
Staring back at me with a stern look of disapproval, this fifth stepper said, "Hey, none of that. I'm tough. I can take it."
If we were picking a team that could be tough and suffer, my first round draft pick would be Jesus. He's proven that he can take a licking and keep on ticking. Long before his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, Jesus experienced suffering. In fact, Matthew four reveals it was his pre-game meal - prior to beginning his three years of public ministry.
After fasting for forty days and nights, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by Satan. Now, if you were the "baddest man in town" - I think being the Son of God qualifies you for that title - (no offense to Jim Croce and Leroy Brown) might you say to yourself, "I'm tough. I can take it." With that kind of attitude, when Satan said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." What might you expect Jesus to do? (Please pause to prepare and refrain from giving the "right" answer that comes from having read this passage a hundred times in the past.) Remember, Jesus hadn't eaten in forty days. Don't forget, he turns water into wine at his mother's insistence, in spite of his reluctance to do so. He was hungry. His "God-hood" was being questioned. He had the ability to perform the challenge. And what did he choose? He quotes scripture. He reframes the challenge.
Jesus doesn't need to prove either his manhood or his "God-hood." He is far more concerned with what God thinks of him than Satan. Jesus refuses to run into the fiery trial of suffering in an insecure attempt to prove himself to his enemy.
Suppose you're the adult child of an abusive alcoholic. When you were a kid you had to "take it." Perhaps your codependent parent remained in the marriage "for the sake of the kids" and failed to provide the protection from this abuser that you deserved. As an adult, you go home for family gatherings and your abuser continues to rule the roost. During a particularly contentious meal, the force of the abuser's wrath is turned on you. What do you do? Do you decide you're "tough" and can take it? Do you pray for God to save you as you sit in your seat and listen to your accuser accuse? On the ride home, do you make excuses for your parent's bad behaving to your own children?
What if you reframed your experience? What if you said to yourself, "Jesus does not succumb to every kind of suffering that comes his way (p. 20 Running On Empty) and neither do I. I don't have to take this anymore. " Armed with this renewed perspective, you make a plan - and stick with it. More on that plan tomorrow.
Recommended reading: Genesis 46 and 47 in the morning; Psalm 19 in the evening
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23 TNIV
2 comments:
Wow, T, you certainly were 'reading' my past as if you were there. As I said before, it's too late to go back and use my 'tools' and I thank God the drinking stopped before my son was born, even though it took me two years to believe it. He has to deal with my overbearing co-dependency and over protectiveness. All the while, I'm in denial about getting him the proper help he needs. Aw well, one day at a time.
Each day is precious, isn't it?
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