Luke 4:6-8—”And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them:for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall all be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
The meaning of virtue is given as “behaviour showing high moral standards”. Some of its synonyms include: goodness, morality, righteousness and integrity. Can you think of one person who can be described as an epitome of all the words listed above? Yes, all the words. Jesus is the only person I know who fits the bill.
We all have shortcomings to meet the benchmarks of virtue as per the Bible. To add to this, we have some unpleasing habits, quirks and idols like our ego (which we aim to please) instead of holding on to/looking at Jesus.
While on earth, Jesus was not spared Puny Satan’s taunts. In fact Puny tried his best to win over Jesus to get one up on God. But what happened? Jesus filled himself with the power of the Holy Spirit through prayer and fasting. Puny tried to hit Jesus at His weakest point; first, through one of the basic needs of every human – hunger. Next, Puny tried to appease Jesus’ ego with promises of authority and glory. Finally, Puny wanted to have Jesus go against God’s plan of crucifixion – Puny asked Jesus to prove He was the Son of God. Jesus did not fall for any of the deceit or wily charms of Puny. Instead, Jesus sent him packing using the Word (as His sword) and His faith in the Word (as His shield). What was Jesus doing? Jesus was teaching us about life. Jesus showed us how to thwart Satan’s plans.
Satan uses deceit as bait to ensnare us to destruction. Reject Satan at once in every opportunity (of sinful gain or advancement) he offers as a price for our souls. Instead seek riches, honors, and happiness in worshipping and serving God. We must seek to know the Word well so that we can use it as our defense from all kinds of assaults. Christ let Puny try all his force before defeating him. Finally, Puny realised there was no purpose to attack the Virtuous One, because he could not fasten his fiery darts on Christ.
Remember:
– Submit yourself to God and resist Satan (James 4:7)
– Hang on to virtue in obedience
– Build yourself in the Word. How can a young person maintain a pure life? By guarding it according to your instructions! (Psalm 119:9)
