—Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6:13

Tongue in cheek, Oscar Wilde once said: “I can resist anything except temptation.” Long before these words were uttered, Jesus knew the sad truth about temptation. He was tempted by the devil in the desert.

The three temptations of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1–11) refer to the universal temptations that everyone has to face in life.

These are the temptations of POWER, POSSESSIONS, and PRIVILEGE.

Jesus rejected the corruption of POWER by reminding us that it is God, not man, whom we “alone shall serve.”

He exposed the futility of trusting in POSSESSIONS or money by declaring that man does ” not live on bread alone.”

And, He rose above the temptation of PRIVILEGE or fame by insisting you must “not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

By confronting all of these temptations, Jesus showed He was not to be bound by attachment to any of them. This is not an easy message, and it should not be sugar-coated in any way. Ask yourself, here and now: Am I controlled by any or all of these temptations?

Are you attached to possessions, for example, even if you don’t possess a great deal? You don’t have to be wealthy to be tempted by POSSESSIONS.

Let me explain. I was having coffee at a coffee-shop when a young assistant said to me: “Oh, how I’d love to be wealthy.” I asked him, “Why?” “Well,” he answered, “I could do so much good.” “Like what?” “I could help others,” he said, self-assuredly. “See that little old lady over there struggling to find a seat?” I pointed. He nodded. “She could do with some help right now. So, why don’t you start with her?” “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” he remonstrated. “What do you mean?” He fell silent. “Do you really think you are going to be more helpful to others,” I continued, “when you have plenty of possessions than right now when you can go over there and help that little old Lady.”

He didn’t know what to say.

The point I was making is that its easier to entertain the luxury of helping others, with possessions you don’t have, rather than helping them right now with what you do have. This is a temptation we must avoid.

Attachment to possessions, whether those possessions are real or imagined, prevents us from helping one another

The struggle against temptation is not for the weak and fickle. Surely that is why, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus included a petition: “Lead us not into temptation,” to help us steer clear of it. A literal reading of the above scripture might suggest that the Lord could lead us into temptation, but that is not what is meant. We petition the Lord, not to let us fall into temptation.

Navigating such a steady course is not simple. We are easily tempted; our heads are easily turned; our attention is easily diverted; and the world is a scary place.

Scripture reminds us how devious is the temptation of POWER. Jesus exercised His power to perform miracles and do good. This proper use of power captured the attention of the Jewish people and the Jewish leaders for different reasons. The people were grateful, but the leaders were not. The leaders viewed Jesus’ power as a threat to their abuse of power which they embraced wholeheartedly. They said He was mad, possessed by the very devil He opposed. Jesus countered their criticisms by labeling them blasphemers against the Holy Spirit. In other words, these accusers rejected Jesus out of bad faith. This offense is so serious that Jesus says the perpetrator “has committed an eternal sin,” that is, a sin against the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth.

The temptation of power has ruined many a life and, like the temptation of possessions, must be avoided at all costs.

And then, there is the temptation of Privilege. Jesus, the Son of God, was most privileged. He had everything at His disposal, yet He put Himself at the service of everyone, even to death on the cross.

We are living in an age where privilege is abused. I met a man the other day who was deeply distraught because his son received $12,000, after taxes, every month, and was always broke. What’s more, he told me, his son was asking for more. The man wondered what could be done about it! I asked, “did you son ever work on a project to help the poor?” He laughed. That said it all.

Privilege is a good thing if exercised responsibly in the service of others. There is a French expression, “noblesse oblige,” which refers to the responsibility of people of privilege to help the underprivileged. That’s the way privilege should work for, after all, everything derives from the generous hand of God. We are mainly stewards of His creation, and we are called to give God the glory by the way we use His blessings.

You must avoid the temptation of privilege to lord it over others who may not be as fortunate as you are.

Temptation wears many hats. It can manifest itself in the lust for POWER, the lure of POSSESSIONS, and the narcissism of PRIVILEGE. It can appear in the guise of leaders and fair-weather friends who embrace these temptations and mislead us.

The gospel warns us about these three, dangerous temptations that threaten to devour us. We need to take careful stock of them and how they can work their wanton ways into our lives if we are not on guard.

We are privileged and grateful, however, to follow the right leader, Jesus Christ, who will not abandon us to temptation.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy