In The Lord of the Rings story, the one ring of power is clearly evil. In the first movie, there are several scenes where various characters are tested to see their response to taking the ring of power for themselves. Gandalf the wizard, Aragorn the long lost king and Galadriel the elf queen all ‘pass’ the test by refusing to take the ring. But Boromir the warrior from Gondor fails the test as he tries to seize the ring by force, with severe consequences.
In this first week of Lent, the gospel reading is always the testing or temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. He is being tested in a positive way by God’s Spirit to see if he will remain true to God’s ways. At the same time he is being tempted in a negative sense by Satan to choose a different and easier path. The key word can be translated as either test or tempt.
The tests or temptations that we face may not carry the same weight or consequences, but are just as real. Every day we are bombarded with advertising messages both blatant and subtle to buy this product or take up that limited offer. These tests ask us a subtle question over and over again, namely where do you get your worth and value from? Buying our product or service is your route to happiness and fulfilment! God’s promise that we are valued and loved for our own sake is often drowned out. We fall into the trap of building the kingdom of self rather than building the kingdom of God.
This issue is serious, though, which is why Jesus included the line in his model prayer ‘Do not lead us into temptation’ (traditional form of the prayer) or ‘Save us from the time of trial’ (modern form). It’s a prayer asking God to give us the strength and wisdom to resist the tests and temptations that come our way every day. Will we choose to follow God’s ways of loving others and seeking justice and mercy or will we follow the world’s ways of looking out for ourselves first and foremost?