The Greatest Temptation…To Become Who We are NOT

On the First Sunday of Lent, we heard about Jesus’ triumph over Satan’s temptations during the reading of the Gospel. The Gospel’s most obvious lesson is that Satan does not discriminate against anyone! His hatred of God drives him to try and persuade everyone — even the Son of God - to disown their original identity — according to Rev. Mr. Russ Kocemba, deacon of Nativity Parish in St. Paul, MN. Satan essentially tempted Jesus to become who He was not! And this also applies to us today. Satan’s tries to undermine who we are to become in and through large and small temptations. That is his mission! Our mission should be like that of Jesus - to reject Satan and all his works and to Love God with our whole heart and mind and soul.

But, how can we know who/what is our original design and identity? We have to come to know ourselves through knowledge of our Creator! We have to understand the relationship we were designed to have with Him. When we learn who we are authentically designed by, we can better understand what we are designed for! And then we are also better equipped to rebuff any of Satan’s temptations that always have the intent of changing us into someone we are not! So, let’s start with the basics. Who made you and why and for what purpose?

We know that the human person is designed as a composite of body, mind, soul and will. Our mind, will, and soul sets us apart from the animal and plant life and geological forms that co-exist with us on this planet. Our minds prompt us to wonder who created all of this and why. We would not wonder about these things if it were not for the fact that we have been infused with a spiritual identity that comes from God Himself. We are beings made with a genetic and a spiritual code.

This 5th sense (spiritual) of self makes us wonder about life after life. It makes us wonder about the Creator of the universe. Believers understand that the creator is God the Father, the Son and His Holy Spirit. We realize there are no other gods before or alongside the One, True God when we rely on Divine Revelation, the Church, our spiritual sense and even nature. The world could not be perfectly ordered if there were multiple beings competing to create the same thing. Nothing short of chaos would erupt! We have the added benefit of Divine Revelation that came from God himself first to a couple - Adam and Eve and then to a family (Noah). After that, God revealed himself to a tribe of which Abraham was the head. God kept reminding us how we came to be when He revealed himself to the Israelite nation through Moses. True to God’s promise to Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses, the original couple grew to become a great Kingdom where God again revealed himself to David and the prophets. In that witness He revealed that He loves all people and would prove it by sending his Son to save us all — no matter what tribe, country or ethnicity we come from. And then, He established a Church to invite us all to play a small or large part in helping God roll out the Divine Plan.

That is our original design and destiny — to willingly become an active partner with God in inviting all into the Kingdom of Heaven. In order to do that, we have to come to know, love and serve God in this life and the next. Our personal and general health and wellness really does hinge on our willingness to identify with and yoke ourselves to the Divine Plan.

Normally, experts speak of personal and general health and wellbeing as the result of having a well-balanced mental, psychological, physical and social sense of wellbeing. Wellness experts also stress the importance of knowing oneself and being able to communicate that to others. Note how the fifth sense is missing from that counsel. We cannot form a positive self image, self awareness, and self concept when omitting or ignoring a key part of our original design. And that piece is our spiritual identity.

What happens when our spiritual identity and nature is ignored? We unintentionally and intentionally fall into Satan’s lair. We begin to practice a false worship of self rather than a right worship of God alone. We begin to worship [with our hearts] pleasure, objects, self, other people, places and things. This false worship means that we slowly but surely push God out of our hearts. And when we turn to false praise, we begin to use people, places and things to satisfy our desires. Essentially we give homage and praise to ourselves rather than to God. Father Patrick Winslow [Catholic Scripture Studies] reminds us: “idolatry is a consistent ailment of human history.” This happens more readily when we ignore our spiritual roots, identities and purpose.

Young people are often asked what they are going to do with their lives. Yet, few are asked what they think God wants them to do with their lives. And so they proceed with life as if they have no accountability to their Original Designer, design or purpose. Often without realizing it, they pursue only corporal desires and wants while ignoring their flag-raising, internal, fifth sense. Young people are aware of the importance of developing positive esteems, self concepts and self awareness. But that necessarily requires knowing one-self; that means knowing who they really are. That means understanding their natural and supernatural strengths and weaknesses. And that means knowing what they really believe in [core beliefs]. But it requires being hinged to and aware of the Divine Plan. When separated from God, unaware of who we really are, and less committed to God than self, we will always lose any battle with Satan. Jesus on the other hand knew who he was and didn’t succumb to Satan’s attacks.

It’s true that we develop a partial sense of who we are from the world we live in; but it is vital to see the ourselves in the Big Picture rather than as an individual alone on our own center stage. When one’s core beliefs extend no further than ourselves and/or other human persons, we will follow the same temptation of our original parents - Adam and Eve. They were the first to veer off the path that allowed them to understand rightly who was creature and who was God. Father Patrick Winslow (Catholic Scripture Study) teaches that when Adam and Eve accepted the fruit they desecrated themselves because the decision turned them into themselves and away from God. They honored themselves rather than God. They failed to see themselves as rightful sons and daughters of God. They became self focused rather than God-focused. After that temptation, they were less able to fight off other temptations. Adam and Eve became who they were not designed to become. They were not created to die but now they had to undergo that. They were not created to lust but they did. They were not created to lead lives of disorder and chaos and unhappiness but that’s what happened when they left Eden. They were not created to kill, lie, steal, cheat, or hate others but they did and so did their descendants. And so we inherited their Original sin including pride of life, lust of the eyes, and lust of the flesh.

Our spiritual natures want to cry out in worship. But the choice often confuses us. What/who do we choose to worship? Either we will worship God alone or we will worship self. The two are incompatible with each other. “Peoples fail to call upon Him because we have grown weary of Him. And so we fail to honor Him with our sacrifices. But we have burdened Him with our sins and wearied God with our iniquities.Nevertheless, He blots out our transgressions … including false worship.” [Isaiah 43: 22-25]

Recently, I taught a group of young people about the various decoys that tempt them to become who they are not. We talked about the lure of illegal and legal drugs, alcohol, sexual pleasures, material goods, technology, etc. While discussing these decoys, we tried to impress on these young people their true Catholic identities as daughters and sons forever of our loving Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So, I was surprised when an attendee argued for marijuana using the usual arguments — it’s natural, it’s not as bad as other drugs, it’s useful for medicinal purposes, its… I answered the question well — or so I thought! But after the program ended, I realized I had missed a major reason why they ought to hate marijuana. It changes users into someone they were not designed to be. We are not designed to be HIGH which in turns alters reality! We were not designed to reduce our ability to make good judgment, have right recall and memory, to apply rational thought, etc! We were not designed to be numb to real life! We are born to feel and experience life in its real state even if it includes pain, sadness or emotional difficulties. Jesus did not come to take away our pain but to be a part of it and to help us through it.

Something could not be a temptation when it is part and parcel of our original design. For instance, it is not a temptation to stay alert, happy, free of mind altering substances. Rather, temptations persuade us to love someone other than our spouse, to undo an existing pregnancy or prevent pregnancy unnaturally. It tries to persuade us to have sex without love. It tries to persuade us to indulge in personal pleasure without looking at the consequences to ourselves and others. They tempt us to become who we are not! Beware of these temptations. Pray for the strength to follow Jesus’ example! Say no to the siren call to become someone you are not designed to be. Refuse to follow those who have lost their own identity as sons and daughters of God.