The Pulpit Speaks: November 3, 1956

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. — Matthew 4:5&6

Last week we tried to show that the world is divided in many groups, basic among these is that group that concerns itself with satisfying the nutritional appetites. The devil knows this. There are many people living today who could have been great had it not been for the great appetites they have nursed, but all of life has been wrapped up in their appetites.

But the grouping does not stop there. There is another group that wraps life around a figure — that of being a sensation. The devil knows this, too. When he had failed in his first attempt, he, knowing Jesus was human, told Him, “You know, they tell me that one of these days, you are going to set up a kingdom here on earth. Now, it is not necessary for you to go around doing things that you have planned. If you jump off this pinnacle, you will be a sensation over night, and thus you will be able to set up your kingdom much more quickly.”

The devil always makes people think in terms of short cuts. There is something in us that makes us want to move around the short corners. The devil waved before Jesus the banner of sensationalism in the hopes that at this point, he would win the argument.

Time and time again people are motivated by the idea of sensationalism. Many people expose themselves to permanent injuries that they might be a sensation. Many people burden themselves needlessly that they might be a sensation. There is something human about us that makes us want to be the center of the program, the life of the party. We just want to go home with the feeling that we were the greatest thing in the whole show.

Nothing hurts a child more than to think or feel that no one is paying attention to him. And many of us are childlike when it comes to that. We want to be the pivot. We want to be the “big wheel,” whatever that is. We want to feel that the sun can’t rise unless we get up every morning and chase away the darkness. We want to feel that the show just can’t go on unless we play the leading role. But it is not like that and Jesus knew that being a sensation was not the answer to solving His problem. Many of us becloud the whole picture by pushing ourselves in the center. When we lose ourselves in the program, we lost sight of all that is worthwhile.

We can never measure up to our fullest stature when we concern ourselves too much with being a sensation. Success comes to those people who are able to choose a worthwhile goal and, having done so, will let nothing deter them from their objective. Life is more than a matter of being a sensation. After all, the sensation is only a sensation for a few minutes. Jesus wanted to advance a program that was going to last forever. So it must be if we are going to do what will last forever. We cannot resort to fly-by-night methods, but resort to those things that are going to be living monuments for years and years to come.