Almost

I’ve been continuing my journey through Matthew’s Gospel. I’ve spent the past couple of days ruminating on Matthew 4. This is the part where Jesus heads out in the wilderness to be tempted/tested for 40 days. While people often refer to it as “the temptation of Jesus” the Greek word used for tempted also can mean “testing” and this may be a better word. It would be out of character for God to tempt us to do evil, as that would make Him a partner in that evil. It’s probably more in line with his accurate to say he tests us to determine our obedience or what we’re made of.

I found something interesting in the interchange between Jesus and Satan.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Matthew 4:5-6 ESV

Satan did something interesting here. He misused this passage from Psalm 91 to attempt to convince Jesus to do something that was not in God’s plan for Jesus. The thing that I have been dwelling on is how Satan used the almost legitimate to tempt Jesus.

How often do we settle for something that’s almost legitimate? We know that God’s plan for marriage is for one man and one woman to marry for life. Yet, some of us will leave our spouse for someone else or we’ll dispense with marriage altogether and just live together without the bond of matrimony. After all, it’s almost like being monogamous or almost like being married.

How many other things do we fall for that are almost legitimate? Racking up credit card debt is almost like being wealthy, putting our faith in a politician to fix everything is almost like trusting our Saviour, self medication with drugs, alcohol or by overeating is almost as good as working to feel better about ourselves. In then end all these things prove to be almost, but not quite good enough.

What are you falling for that is only almost legitimate?