“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Luke 4:8)
Satan promises much, but delivers very little. Like he did with Jesus, he takes us up to a mountaintop and shows us all there is to be had in the world. He says, “This is where life and joy and satisfaction is to be found! It can be all yours. I will give it all to you if you follow my path. But you must be willing to be like me. You can’t let yourself be bothered by rules and regulations and laws that would stop you from discovering all that the world has to offer. There can be no forbidden zones. The tree is good. Its fruit is good to eat and pleasant to look at. You will become very wise if you eat of it. Don’t believe the nonsense that you will die if you partake of it.”
Where Adam fell for the devil’s temptation, Jesus stood. He would not bow down to the person of Lucifer. He was willing to go without Satan’s offer of “all that was in the world.” He chose to worship and serve the Father. And the world of Jesus, although temporarily remaining “small,” would increase and abound, because His world was an inner world that God was in. It consisted of spiritual life and joy and satisfaction.
Do not fall for the god of this world’s line. He overpromises. He is a liar and a deceiver. His “goods” are nothing in the end. He will ultimately leave you in a very small world where you have nothing but bondage and misery. Take rather the path of Jesus which was to decline the door swung wide open into the inner recesses of all the world has to offer. Realize that you will never be able to enjoy the glorious goodness of God’s table until you refuse the table Satan sets for you.