The Gaming Temptation

It’s a strange temptation. Jesus and Satan are locked in combat. Suddenly Satan changes tactics and shows Jesus every kingdom the world has ever known—every empire, every system of power, that humanity has built. And then comes the offer: It’s all Yours for the taking. Jesus can skip a life of hardship and struggles and pain. He can be an instant winner with no war. All it would take would just be a simple acknowledgment of who is in charge.

And Jesus says no.

At first glance this temptation could seem a little irrelevant to us, as we are usually not being offered kingdoms and empires when we are tempted. But what exactly was being rejected? This wasn’t just about power—it was about a system. An age-old system that shows itself in a game that almost everyone is still playing.

Power and Control

Soon after our ancestors left Eden and the world became a hostile and dangerous place, we began to organize. Kingdoms were established that offered people protection and stability. But soon these expanding kingdoms flipped their purpose, and instead of serving the people, the kingdoms, hungry for more power, became empires that absorbed lands, peoples, and wealth to secure their own survival. Although empires were often brutal and unjust, they seemed to be better than chaos. They provided structure and the rules of the game we are born into. At its core the system runs on power. Someone is always on top, and someone else is the underdog. Power and control flow downward. Whether it’s an ancient Mayan society or a Western democracy, the structure remains the same. There are winners and losers. Power is not about love or compassion. It has always been about strategy—sometimes noble, often ruthless. Deception, force, manipulation, and even deeds that look like acts of mercy are not exceptions but are part of the rules of the game that, at its heart, is all about winning.

This new way of life Jesus brought cannot be fit into political systems or power structures. It’s not another strategy for winning the game. It’s a rejection of the game itself.

The game has different rounds. Empires become so corrupt that they eventually cave in. Revolutions and government changes try to improve the system by making things fairer and more humane. And often it seems to produce good results, but the underlying structure doesn’t change. The players may have to adhere to better rules or be kinder, but everyone is still playing the power game. This is what is behind Satan’s offer. He realized that he couldn’t get Jesus to be a player in the selfish power game in His relationships with others and God, and so he offers Jesus access to the back end of the game—not just political authority, but the chance to control the game itself.

The Upside-down Kingdom

Empires have different names today, but the dynamics are still the same. Political systems, ideological movements, even religious debates, hide power games. The game doesn’t reward the values we as Jesus’ followers claim to follow. Kindness, humility, and forgiveness don’t count in systems built on competition and control. Jesus refused to play the game on any level. Instead, He introduced a radically new way. This way was so radical that it shook the Roman Empire to its core.

This was a way of living that revolves around, not dominance or submission, but mutual care. This is a kingdom in which the king dies for his enemies. In which greatness is defined by service and not control. A kingdom in which there is diversity but unforced unity and where every action is motivated, not by fear or selfish strategy, but by the desire to express love. This new way of life Jesus brought cannot be fit into political systems or power structures. It’s not another strategy for winning the game. It’s a rejection of the game itself.

This does not mean that we live disengaged from our world and indifferent to all the suffering and chaos around us. But it does mean that we will never resort to using the strategies of the game to build God’s kingdom, because when, even for good reasons, we begin using force, control, manipulation, and fear, we are still playing Satan’s game.

Jesus’ refusal on that mountain has not given us better tools for winning the game. Rather it underlies the ultimate transition, not into a new updated power game, but the reality of a new birth into a kingdom as sons and daughters of God.