In recent years there has been a parade of shipwrecked careers and bankrupted companies led by people whose egos got ahead of their values. Not only that, the pursuit of power and wealth has cost many men their souls. In this week’s episode of By Your Life, we’ll talk about how our Lenten practices can help us battle the temptations of life.

Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2020/20_03_01.mp3

First Sunday of Lent – March 1, 2020

Welcome to the one hundred and first episode of By Your Life. I’m Lisa Huetteman and I know that you have a hundred different things you could be doing right now, so I thank you for choosing By Your Life.

My goal is to inspire, empower, support, challenge, and encourage you to connect Sunday, with Monday-Friday, in a secular, business world. It’s my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.

In this edition, we’ll reflect on the readings for the First Sunday of Lent. (Year A) Catholics love Lent! Maybe its because we need a second chance to make good on our new year’s resolutions. Whatever the reason, our churches were filled with standing-room-only crowds who had to get their ashes and then proudly share their #ashtag on social media. I pray that we don’t miss the point to grow spiritually through this season of Lent.

Any Catholic that’s worth his salt knows that Lent is a time for fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. It is no coincidence that our Gospel reading this Sunday put these three practices to the test. In this edition of By Your Life, I’d like to reflect on how getting back to the basics with these three practices will benefit you not only personally, but professionally too.

Matthew’s Gospel details the Temptation of Christ. We heard how Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights and afterward he was hungry. I bet he was. I was hungry on Ash Wednesday and it was a meager 24-hour fast. There were many times I was tempted to eat throughout the day. After forty days and forty nights, the tempter approached Jesus. He’s cunning. He challenges Jesus’ identity. But Jesus immediately replied, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” (Mt 4:4)

In last week’s episode of By Your Life, I talked about the value of using affirmations. For the past week, whenever I feel frustrated with another person or a situation, I’ve been using the affirmation taken from 1 Cor 3:16, “I am the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in me.” If I am a temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in me, it is incongruous for me to criticize others. This affirmation has been incredibly effective in helping me refocus my response from something less positive to something more thoughtful.

In a sense, this is what Jesus did when the devil provoked him in the first temptation. He quoted scripture, “It is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.” (Dt 8:3) to affirm the priority of God in his life. I imagine the very hungry Jesus quoted this scripture to himself many times over the course of his forty-day fast. It not only strengthened him along the way, it was top of mind when the devil tempted him to sin. Unlike Jesus, we’ve already crossed the path to sin and so we need to change behaviors that have become our bad habits. Affirmations are positive statements that fuel the change you want to make in your life.

We all have those things that we rely on, want badly, or are even addicted to, that takes a primary place in our lives. They move into the spot where God belongs and keep us from being 100% available to Him. Unlike Jesus who never allowed this to happen, we have already fallen victim to this sin. For some, it is a grave sin. For others, we may not even recognize it as a sin. We don’t want to call it that. We convince ourselves that, “It’s not that bad, you know. I could let go of it whenever I want. I just don’t want to right now. Maybe later.” What is this thing for you? Do you even know? Fasting helps us refocus our desires from that which is self-serving to that which is the will of God.

At work, we also have things that are getting in the way of our purpose. I’ve worked with a few clients whose workplaces were filled with cuss words. People let the f-bomb fly at situations, at things, and worst of all at other people, without batting an eye. Maybe in your workplace, it’s not swearing, instead, it is yelling, demeaning, gossiping, criticizing or complaining that have become part of your organization’s culture. If so, you can be sure that it is getting in the way of achieving your mission.

When challenged about the effectiveness of this type of speech in helping improve morale or productivity, my clients always acknowledged that it wasn’t good, but they never did anything to try to eliminate it, because they knew they had to change a habit, and that’s hard to do. So, my clients who needed to get rid of the foul language, used the affirmation, “I am a person who respects others.” When you find you’re tempted to give in, or even if you’ve failed already, speak your affirmation out loud, three times, and visualize what you are saying. Swearing at someone is incongruent with respecting them. Recognizing this will help you make the change you want to make.

In the second temptation (Mt 4:5-7), the devil shrewdly quotes scripture as he encourages Jesus to test God. But Jesus didn’t need a sign. He was confident in his relationship with the Father. Jesus trusted the quiet presence of God and did not need to put him to a test.

How often does our faith waiver and we need a sign to know that God is with us? To strengthen our faith, we need to strengthen our prayer life. For this reason, the second Lenten practice is to invest time in communication with God through prayer. You can’t trust someone you don’t have a relationship with, and you can’t have a relationship with them if you don’t invest time with them.

At work, if there is someone you need to work with and you don’t trust them, you may be tempted to test them. We call it “trust but verify.” That’s really not trusting at all. It is just setting someone up to disappoint you. Perhaps you could benefit by investing in that relationship by changing how you communicate with them. If your emails go unanswered, pick up the phone. Invite them to lunch. Talk about something other than work. Get to know them. This makes so much sense, but people don’t do it. Want to improve your relationship with others, invest time with them. Want to improve your relationship with God, do the same. Pray.

In the third temptation of Christ, the devil tried to penetrate the human weakness of pride by offering wealth and power. He “showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, ‘All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.’” (Mt 4:8-9)

In recent years there has been a parade of shipwrecked careers and bankrupted companies led by people whose egos got ahead of their values. Not only that, the pursuit of power and wealth has cost many men their souls. I don’t think they ever envisioned themselves as prostrating themselves in the worship of Satan, but they worshiped the false god of power and wealth. The news is filled with the stories of those who’ve been caught. Countless others may not make the headlines or get in trouble with the law, but they leave in their wake an environment where in-fighting, back-stabbing, and lack of personal responsibility thrives. When pride rules, accountability suffers because we can’t be wrong, so we blame others. As the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung said, “Through pride, we are ever deceiving ourselves.” He goes on to say, “But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune.” That small voice is God.

In last week’s episode, I talked about my habit of criticizing. Pride is at the center of this bad habit. As C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” So, I’ve committed to fast from criticizing. I’ve committed to pray for others instead. Both of these Lenten practices have helped me this week. And my affirmation has helped me keep these Lenten practices.

What false gods do you worship? Where has pride and ego gotten in the way of your relationships with God and with others? Lent is a great time to use the practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving to make a needed change. And when we are tempted or when we fail, we can use Jesus’ affirmation to help us keep on track. “The Lord my God shall I worship and him alone shall I serve.” (Mt 4:10)

May God bless you abundantly during this Lenten season. May your fasting, praying, and almsgiving strengthen you. And, may you glorify the Lord by your life.

If you liked this episode, spread the word. You know what to do, forward, share, or click to post. Also, check out the Resources page where you can find a link to the books and other resources mentioned in other episodes of By Your Life. I’m always interested in what you think, so give me some feedback by leaving a comment.