RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE

RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE 

Fr. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR 

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, the first man and woman were tempted by the devil- the serpent. God had given instruction to them to eat the fruit of the trees in the garden, but of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God had said, “You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.” But the devil came in his subtle manner and said, “No! You will not die! As a matter of fact, God knows that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” Eve and Adam could not resist this temptation. They ate the fruit, and sinned against God. 

Centuries after, in the desert, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God made man, Mediator and Redeemer of humanity, was also tempted by the devil. And he resisted every temptation, no matter which. Jesus main’s concern and focus is doing the will of his heavenly Father. Like Adam and Eve, like Jesus, we are also tempted. Sometimes we are able to resist and sometimes we succumb to temptation. But Jesus has shown us it is possible to resist temptation at all times. It is possible not to yield! 

What is Temptation? Temptation is an enticement, opinion, or suggestion to commit sin. Temptation in itself is no sin; but yielding to it is evil. Temptation is always a test or an examination on our faith to God. And our victory or otherwise defeat in it will determine where we will spend eternity. Only overcomers will have the privilege to see and live with God hereafter. Only those who love Jesus genuinely will be saved. Jesus says in the gospel of John 14: 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” 

Since our attitude to temptation determines how much we love Jesus, it is very essential that we know what steps to take so as to overcome it. In the first place, knowing the source of temptation is an important step to overcoming it. Obviously, all enticement to do evil comes from a source that hates us and would want to destroy us. But no matter how pleasing Satan’s suggestions are, we can still overcome. Jesus has taught us how to overcome. Satan is the origin of temptation. The Letter of St. James 1: 13 says “But let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with, neither he tempts any one.” Everyone is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin when it is committed, brings forth death. A man is said to be provoked when his emotions are unduly aroused. Likewise Satan causes us to sin against God and our fellow men and women by provoking our base nature to do things that are contrary to the commands of God and the norms of the society. Sometimes the evil one persuades you strongly saying, “act quickly, do it now, this is your chance”; he bombards us with all these sometimes thus leaving no room for his victim to think through his actions and its consequences. 

Temptation is subtle, then seductive, then sudden, shackling our reasoning faculty as well as weakening our moral will to resist. When such is the case, many people succumb easily and go into sin they did not bargain for. Temptation comes to everyone. The worst temptation is to be without temptation. (St. John Vianney) But not everybody yields to it. Jesus himself was tempted in all things just as we are being tempted today. He was tempted with food “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread”; he was tempted with power and wealth “all these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me”; his ego was also tempted. Yet, in all, he overcame. 

In fact, the lesson we need to draw from the temptation of Jesus is that we too can overcome temptation just as he did. Of all probabilities, that is the reason the account of this temptation was recorded; to help those of us who are daily harassed with temptation, left, right and center. Whenever we have legitimate needs, the devil comes to engage us in some unlawful deeds to satisfy such needs. Sometimes he makes us to use our authority, wealth, natural endowments and personality to achieve some selfish ends. Sometimes you hear the beautiful young ladies saying, “use what you have and get what you need” or use what you have (i.e. their beauty and sexuality) and get what you don’t have.” In this, they are using their natural endowment to satisfy their lack. Satan tried to make Jesus obey him by suggesting he turns stones into bread. He knew the Lord was hungry. And it was at that time he came to tempt him. Jesus could have said, “Oh! That is true! After all I am hungry. If I turn the stones into bread, at least I can eat to my satisfaction.” But by doing that, the Lord would have obeyed the Devil. But he strongly resisted him on that score. We too can. Not only does the devil tempt by enticing one to satisfy a legitimate bodily demand in an illegitimate way, sometimes he also tries to exaggerate such need or magnify a problem before flashing in one’s to some ungodly suggestion in such a subtle manner that will make one believe that he the devil has a better deal to offer than God. For instance he might suggest masturbation to a bachelor or a spinster justifying it with some seemingly cogent reasons. And often times when he tempts people in such a way, he twists the scripture to suit his own purpose. 

The devil, sometimes misapplies the scripture to make us do things that are contrary to the will of God. At other times he mixes the Scripture with the creeds and philosophies of men. In doing this he often uses those very close to us to entice us into evil. “After all the Bible says… ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves.’” Such quotes or statements aimed at making us do things that are contrary to the revealed will of God actually come from the devil. Not every verse that comes into our mind then is God-sent. Some are, indeed, invented or twisted by the devil to make us sin against the Almighty God. Today, Jesus has taught us that it is possible to overcome temptation, sin and Satan. Remember that the devil comes to kill, main, destroy our relationship with God and with each other. We should learn to trust our Lord Jesus Christ who has conquered Satan, sin and temptation. He was tempted, but he did not fall. He knows what it means to be tempted. Call upon him in the day of your trouble and temptation; he will deliver you, so that you will honor him.