"An old fable relates how the Devil was once crossing the Libyan desert, and came upon a group of junior devils who were tempting a holy hermit. They tried him with seductions of the flesh; they inserted doubts into his mind; they told him that all his discipline was a waste of time. But all was useless - the holy man stayed holy.
The Devil then stepped forward and intervened: 'Your methods are so crude, so ham-fisted! Permit me!'
Going up to the hermit, he said, 'Have you heard the good news? Your brother has been made Bishop of Alexandria!'
It was only then that the face of the holy man began to twist and contort with jealousy and hurt pride."
Richard Bewes* shared this fable to sound an important warning to us all: "That Achilles-heel factor affects every single one of us ... This is the warning to every servant of God."
And what will rescue us from this predicament? Bewes continues: "It is the maintaining of our daily union with Jesus that keeps our service intact and pure", just as the writer of Hebrews remind us:
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)
