Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
“I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
Matthew 4:8-11 NLT
The third temptation concerns the “lust of the eyes,” (NIV) or “a craving for everything we see.” (NLT 1 John 2:16-17) Eve was told, “your eyes will be opened… you will be like God.” (Genesis 3:5) She was tempted by an attractive “short cut.” Jesus was not. He resisted. He wouldn’t even discuss it.
We are warned,
Temptation is a suggested short cut
to the realization of the highest at which I aim –
not towards what I understand as evil,
but towards what I understand as good.
Oswald Chambers
Satan wanted Jesus to worship him, to give him the reverent honor and homage that is paid to God alone. Jesus, fully man and fully God, wouldn’t. Neither should we, because,
He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise,
the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes.
Deuteronomy 10:21 NLT
And,
“You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
Revelation 4:11 NLT
Amen, and amen!