How we get stuck

In my previous entry I said

"Jesus' obedience was to make himself open to whatever God wanted from him. It is very important to note that Jesus did not stop with any 'basics'. Jesus went all the way, and that's the reason we can follow him. Jesus didn't get stuck."

Sometimes the writers of the Bible referred to things that hold us back as impediments, or things that make someone stumble. In other places the same things are referred to as chains that bind us. The picture we have of Jesus in the desert discusses these things as temptations. All of these are good descriptions, because they do trip us up, bind us, and seem good. And these can also be seen as fears, and as such, are ways that we can be controlled. They are all external things that we think will make us happy, but don't deliver.

Look at the temptations of Jesus in the desert.

Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

PHYSICAL NEEDS

The first was for physical sustenance, turning stones into bread.

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The first temptation was so close to home. Jesus was weak from his fast, and the temptation was really close to a mere observation of his need for food and water. Who would dispute that? Of course he needed food and water!

In our modern society one way freedom is denied is to become a wage slave. If you are in fear of the fallout from the loss of your job, you might be tempted to justify even unethical actions. After all, you may have a family to feed!

How do we break the chains of being a 'wage-slave' to our job? You don't have to quit your job, just recognize that life is more than a paycheck. Your boss doesn't own you.

"If only I had my needs met, I would be happy!" -- But happiness doesn't depend on paying any bills. In Matthew 6:25 Jesus says,

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

There is much more to life than the physical, there is the spiritual. And both types of sustenance come from God, not your employer.

RECOGNITION

The second temptation was that Jesus could jump from the top of the temple and not be hurt.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

It appealed to a sense of power and of status. Here is another way we can end up chained and controlled, just like a bought politician.

This stumbling block is societal. It is all about power, status, having some sort of recognition. It is about the fear that someone else will get the promotion ahead of us.

"If only I were appreciated, recognized, I would be happy!" -- But happiness doesn't depend on pats on the back.

Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

I think most personality disorders and controlling behavior falls into this category. In our attempts to control situations and people, and pursuit of recognition, we might use all sorts of justifications for what good we can accomplish. But power, status, or recognition that is of any value is our status with God. Everything else is as ethereal as a cloud.


RICHES

The third temptation was to gain the whole world-- materialism.

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; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

The song 'Billionnaire' by Travie Mccoy is very popular now, expressing the mindset of most people nowadays, it seems.

"If only I were rich, I would be happy!" -- But happiness doesn't depend on riches.

Riches become your chains, your master, because once you have them you must guard them lest they be stolen. You worry that somehow everything will be taken away, and this worry will rule you.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

But as we noted with temptation number two, everything of TRUE value comes from God. And as with the proper response to temptation one, everything we TRULY need comes from God.

LIBERATION

At first these external pursuits look good to us. And we ask ourselves how something that is good can ever be bad for us. There is a saying, 'The Good is the enemy of the Best'. When the road forks, you can't take both paths.

Jesus came to light the path, to show us the way to freedom. By following his example we too can keep from getting stuck. And if we already feel trapped, following his example can liberate us from our bondage to this world. But you have to follow him, do what he did, step where he stepped, so to speak.

What Jesus tried to communicate was this: If everything of value and everything we need comes from God, then that's the end of discussion! Why would we look to the external world for what only God can give? We don't need to give room in our thinking to the lie that we will be happy if we can get, grab, collect, or have. These external things no longer rule us, or even have any meaning to us, because our whole existence is on another level.

for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.