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Relating
to Evil
2/12
– 2/13, 2005
Matthew
4:1-11
It
would be wrong to think that the story of Adam and Eve and
the story of Jesus' temptation are simply reporting events
that happened in the past. Both of these stories are mythic
stories. When we call a story a myth, we are not saying that
the story is false, but rather that it is universal. Myths
reveal the human condition. They tell us something about ourselves
and the way that we live. These two stories today remind us
that evil is a part of our lives and that the temptation to
do what is wrong is always close at hand. Therefore, since
the church has presented these two passages to us today, I
would like to make one point from each of them which I hope
will aid us in the Lenten journey that we begin this week.
The
story of Adam and Eve tells us that evil comes to us disguised
as good. Our first parents were not tempted to disobey God
directly, but instead they were offered a very good thing:
a wonderful fruit, a fruit that the text said was good for
food, a delight to the eyes, and the bearer of wisdom. It
was in Adam and Eve's effort to have this distorted good that
sin entered our world. The same is true for us. Evil comes
to us as a distorted good. The choices that we make to do
what is wrong usually occur because we have convinced ourselves
that we are choosing something that is good. What evil does
is take good things in our life and twist them, so that instead
of being blessings, they in fact do us harm.
A
word that conveys this truth about evil is the word “addiction.”
Usually when we think of addiction, we think of someone under
the sway of alcohol or drugs. But the truth is that all of
us are addicted to something. We might be addicted to eating
or to shopping or to the need to help or make others happy.
We might be addicted to the latest thing, the hottest trend,
most popular fashion. We might be addicted to our computer,
our electronic games, our favorite band, our golf clubs. All
of these things are in themselves good. But when we give them
control over our lives, when we make them necessary, they
rule us instead of bless us.
Now
the challenge of Lent is not to stop eating or to throw away
our computer or our golf clubs. The challenge of Lent is to
allow the good things in our life to find their proper place
so that we can free ourselves from the addiction to them.
There is only one thing which can occupy the center of our
life, that is our relationship to God.
The
story of Adam and Eve tells us that evil comes to us in the
guise of what is good. The story of Jesus' temptation tells
us another truth about evil: we are usually not so much tempted
by our weaknesses as by our strengths. The devil knew who
Jesus was and what he could do. He used Jesus' gifts to tempt
him. He knew Jesus could change stones into bread or protect
himself from a disastrous fall, or somehow corral the powers
of the kingdoms of the earth. The devil used those very gifts
of Jesus to attempt to lead him to sin.
The
same is true for us. We are more likely to be tempted by our
strengths than by our weaknesses. If we are an industrious,
energetic person, that gift can tempt us to the amass excessive
wealth. If we are a person gifted with organization and people
skills, that gift can become a temptation to power. If we
are a person who has a personality that is sensitive and passionate,
we can be tempted to sensual pleasure. If we are a person
who is intelligent and bright, we can be tempted to arrogance.
If we are attractive and good looking, we can be tempted to
vanity. What the story of Jesus' temptation tells us is that,
as evil approaches us, we should look to our strengths rather
than to our weaknesses. For evil takes our gifts, the things
that we are good at, and tries to twist them so that instead
of helping us and others, they become a poison in our lives.
The
two mythic stories in today's Scriptures, the story of Adam
and Eve and the story of Jesus' temptation, both tell us truths
about our lives and our relationship to evil. They remind
us that evil is close at hand, moving like a snake at our
feet. It comes to us in the guise of good and uses our own
strengths to tempt us. The challenge of Lent is to recognize
this deception and work against it. We must pray for the strength
to choose goodness rather than addiction. We must be vigilant
that our talents are not used to hurt ourselves or others,
but instead that we work to use our gifts to be our best selves
and to build the kingdom of God.
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