Matthew 4:9 English Standard Version (ESV) And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

This is blatant manipulation. Those who would control us are more subtle than this. Remember that the serpent in the garden was the most subtle of all God’s creations. While I am not saying all that would control us are Satan, the end result is the same, being drawn away from God.

Why does anyone want to use us? On the grand scale we can easily see that money is a common denominator. Common denominators allow us to see how users are trying to influence our lives.

Lean one way and it is easy to be pushed in that direction. Advertising is blatant in their approach towards selling their product because they know how many people are leaning towards their product. An alcoholic does not need advertising. Those who deny the pull towards addiction will not see the harm in those ads. They will see beauty and no danger. It is subtle.

Speaking of beauty, how many magazines have ugly people on the cover? Characters in computer role playing games are customized by the user to fit the desire of the user to appear as they fantasize themselves? That is vanity run amok. Anything that allows us to see ourselves as something we are not, is denying God’s plan for us.

In the first two temptations Satan questions Jesus’ identity. “If you are the Son of God…” None of our earthly temptations are so blatant. If they were, we would see that. There are other ways to question our identity in Christ without being blatant about it.

The first is to question our faith.

The second is to question our salvation.

Matthew 26:40 English Standard Version (ESV) And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?”

This was not a guilt trip. This was a statement of fact that each and every one of us can learn from.

What do we do for hours on end in mindless pursuit of entertainment?

That is a guilt trip.

Many of us spend more time on other things than we do in reading our bibles. It takes discipline to get up early and make room for bible study every day. That is why they call us disciples. That was a guilt trip.

Anything said that insinuates that we do something better than someone else is a guilt trip. That is not the way to encourage others to have a better relationship with God. The root of the guilt trip is a personal understanding of our own failures and projecting them onto others. Few of us know another person’s personal approach to this relationship we all have with God.

We do what we do because we love it. That is the basis of any relationship. It has to be personal and it needs to be real. If we are fooling ourselves, it does no one any good. If we are being honest with ourselves what others say to guilt trip us will have no adverse effect. Truth always wins over lies.

We will comment from time to time about behaviors which have infected our own souls. If our confessions help others, praise God. Most of those confessions may take on a tone of a guilt trip but it is not meant to be that way.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.”
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Do you need chapter and verse to know this is the Word of the Lord?

That was a guilt trip.