"But he replied,
'Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
- Matthew 4:4
The first temptations are directed to our corporeality, of our being made of flesh, of being bodily. The attacks against our journey toward holiness uses our basic needs [food, clothing, shelter, etc] and our senses [especially sight, hearing, taste and touch].
Eve was tempted by the serpent by showing her how good to eat and how pleasing to the eye is the fruit [see Genesis 3:6]. Jesus our Lord had just fasted for forty days and was very hungry when the Devil challenged Him to turn the stones into bread [see Matthew 4:3].
Eve was enticed and took a fruit, ate it and even gave some to her husband who readily accepted it not thinking about God's command. He must have loved and trusted his wife too much he forgot about God! But our Lord, instead of merely making faces to taunt the Devil and depending on His own strength knew that only one thing is necessary to overcome the temptation: to think of God and His providence. So He quoted Scriptures. The whole passage read as follows: "He humbled you, he made you feel hunger, he fed you with manna which neither you nor your ancestors had ever known, to make you understand that human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh" [Deuteronomy 8:3]. The next passages would even provide insight into the meaning of Matthew 6:33 quoted below.
The Lord relied on God when Eve gave in to her senses and basic needs.
Today we are faced with so much temptations directed against our basic needs and senses that lead us to sin. Hunger is everywhere, people without their own houses can be seen even in many developed countries, and overpopulation is considered a very grave danger to the self-sufficiency of human being in the days to come. On the other hand, there are so many products backed up by strong commercials and advertisement about keeping our bodies beautiful, of having pretty externals, of having healthy lives, which all seems to be geared to the target of being perfectly fitted to a society with enough for everyone in accordance with a projected number of population that could be supported by the earth to live in luxury, pleasure and leisure. And in the midst of these, the act of procreation is being relegated into a mere act of leisure and pleasure. While promoting the program of limiting the population, sex which is supposed to be for procreation, the growth of population, is being set only as a "recreational facility".
And the Word of God is not listened to anymore and the Church which He has established is being attacked as an outdated institution, an ultraconservative establishment that has no place on earth. And many would even proclaim, "There is no God!" when in fact they make gods out of science, technology and modern living without knowing or recognizing it.
Basic human needs and the satisfaction of our senses are not bad in themselves. It is when they are satiated and used in an ungodly way that they become bad. As Christians it is our duty to manifest to the world that the most important thing that truly matters in the world is every word that comes out of the mouth of God. In fact, God has given us the best Word to follow and imitate in our lives: Jesus Christ Himself, our Lord, the Word Incarnate through whom everything was made.
The next time we encounter temptations using our basic needs and directed to our sense, it would be good to remember Matthew 4:4: "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God." In short let us remember Jesus our Lord, the Word of God, who lived the holiest life on earth and never sinned even once.
With regards to our needs, God assures us, "Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God's saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well" [Matthew 6:33].
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