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For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is
able
In the 1960's a book came out called The Peter Principle.
The premise of the book is that people in the world always wish to go
higher, to climb the ladder of success, and to make more and
more. Yet in so doing, by climbing the ladder of success in
fulfilling the American dream, most reach a level of
incompetence. They go so high as to flounder in ineptitude and
disillusionment and are neither happy nor content. Rather than
staying in a place where they can handle the pressures of the job they
seek to go higher.to aid them that are tempted. Heb2:18 The temptations of the world can very much be the temptations of the church where people who have experienced a touch of the Spirit consider themselves well able to be leaders of the church. They go into ministry without having dealt with the flesh and their carnal appetites, thinking that going higher will bring peace and contentment only to find temptations of a more profound and weighty measure. Their ego is so strong that many seek praise and honor only relegated to Christ. They are tickled by the praise of people who think that having a touch of the Spirit, they are ready for promotion and when they go higher they bring about disrepute to the name of Christ. Now what we learn from scripture is that Jesus suffered the same temptations. In John chapter six it states “those men when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did (feeding the multitudes) said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” Jesus knew his destiny. He knew is call was to die by crucifixion for the salvation of the world and he would not be tickled to follow a path that was not his destiny. If his ego had gotten in the way he would have sinned. But he perceived the will of God for his life and followed the path the Father had chosen, not the one people thought he should pursue. My admonition to the faithful is to be very sure what the will of God is for your life and not to be tempted by the praise and flattery that says “Go Higher”. If you do, all you will find are temptations which may be even stronger than the ones you are facing now and the success of status will not keep you from falling even further than when you were in the world. Learn from Jesus to stay true to God and run if necessary. Amen |