Read: Matthew 4:1-11

To be honest, I’ve never considered myself a very good Christian. That said, I can certainly identify with the description, “sinner saved by grace.” Maybe this is why I’ve never been “tempted” to bargain with the Lord. It seems like I’ve been incomprehensibly blessed as it is, and the idea that I would somehow knowingly put myself in a situation that would test God’s devotion to me, rather than vice versa, runs headlong against my otherwise imperfect faith.

But there’s another reason that this particular passage from Matthew resonates with me. Over the years I’ve witnessed a growing strain of Christianity that seems enamored with political power as a means of bringing about the Kingdom of God on Earth. This passage from Matthew reminds us that even for Jesus, there is no shortcut to that great and glorious eventuality — and that to yield to the temptation to believe otherwise opens up the original “devil’s bargain.” Such an end can never justify the means, no matter how tempting it may seem.

Lord, just as you resisted the ultimate temptation rather than deny God, give me the strength to likewise say, ‘begone Satan’ when faced with the many “devil’s bargains” that we face in this world, however righteous the desired end may seem.
-Michael Boss