Back in the 1960’s when I was in Bible college, a local preacher who was highly respected spoke in chapel. He said, “The three biggest stumbling blocks for ministers are sex, silver and status.
Over the years I have observed that not only is his statement true of ministers; it applies to everyone. In fact, the Apostle John, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote: “For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–come not from the Father, but from the world (I John 2:16). The devil uses these three channels (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life) to distract or even derail us.
The first place we see this is in the Garden of Eden. The serpent deceived Eve about the forbidden fruit, and Genesis 3:6 says that she could see that the fruit was “good for food” (lust of the flesh), “pleasing to the eye” (lust of the eyes) and “desirable for gaining wisdom” (the pride of life). She ate it and gave some to Adam. Because of this, sin and death came to planet earth.
The devil used the same tactics when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus had been praying and fasting for 40 days. So the first temptation was to turn some stones into bread (lust of the flesh). The devil also showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said, “All these I will give you if you bow down and worship me” (lust of the eyes). The devil also appealed to Jesus’ pride of life by suggesting that Jesus jump off the pinnacle of the temple and fly over Jerusalem like Superman to show everybody his power.
We should not be surprised, then, that Satan uses the same three approaches in tempting us. In fact, if we are wise we will keep our guard up in these vulnerable areas. Jesus is our example as he overcame the temptations by quoting scripture. We should monitor ourselves concerning our sin struggles. In our areas of weakness we can memorize Bible verses which encourage us to be strong. God loves us and knows what is best for us. His principles and commands are for our own good.
The world, the flesh and the devil offer us freedom from “tired old rules,” but true freedom is not the absence of boundaries. If you run red lights with your car, you will regret it. You can’t even play baseball without rules of the game and a field which has the diamond. A fish is not free to roam the jungle and a lion is not free to live under water. If we ignore the boundaries given us in God’s Word, we will self-destruct. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are truly my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
We are free to be our best selves when we obey the Lord’s commandments. If you would like to do your own research concerning what the Bible says about the top three stumbling blocks, below are some scriptures to get you started: Lust of the Flesh – Exodus 20:14, Proverbs 23:21, I Corinthians 7:1-2, Galatians 5:16 Lust of the Eyes – Exodus 20:17, Ecclesiastics 5:10, Matthew 6:19-20, I Timothy 6:6-8 The Pride of Life – Deuteronomy 8:10, 14, 17-18; Matthew 20:25-27; I Corinthians 4:7; Philippians 2:3-4
Brian Giese
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association
