Lent Exercises: Temptation - Trust and Delayed Gratification

You’ve probably heard of the Stanford marshmallow experiment.  The experiment, designed to measure delayed gratification, was originally done at Stanford University in 1972.  Children who participated in the experiment were shown a treat (a marshmallow or pretzel).  They were told that they could eat the treat, but if they waited for the researcher to return, a wait of fifteen minutes, they would get two treats.  Not surprisingly, children who were better able to delay gratification were, generally, higher performers later in life.  

The marshmallow experiment seems to reinforce something we already know.  Delayed gratification is important for success.  If we want to perform at a high level we’d better develop and hone our ability to resist temptation.  

Matthew 4:1-11 tells the story of Jesus at the start of his ministry.  For forty days Jesus is in the wilderness, fasting, and facing the temptations of the devil.  Jesus is tempted to prove his identity as the “Son of God.”  In each temptation the devil seems to hold the marshmallow in front of Jesus.  “Command these stones to become bread,” is promised relief to a body famished by forty days of fasting.  “Throw yourself down,” comes with a presumption of God’s intervention, now, no more waiting.  “All these I will give you…” dangles earthly power with all its privileges.  

In each of these temptations we see Jesus combating the very same tests his human ancestors faced in their wilderness.  When Jesus succeeds against the temptations of bread, false worship, or presumption, readers familiar with the story of Israel recognize that the ancient struggle between tempter and humanity is entering a new stage.  

While inspiring in its depiction of Jesus, the temptation story leaves us wondering where we fit.  When I was growing up preachers loved pointing out how Jesus responded to temptation with scripture.  They inferred that if only I memorized enough bible verses, I too would be able to resist temptation.  This strategy didn’t make much sense to me.  Growing up as deeply in church as I did, I knew more bible than most of my friends.  This did not give me great advantages when it came to resisting temptation.  Is the ability to resist temptation an innate capacity, something the marshmallow experiment can measure but not create?  

It turns out that the ability to delay gratification or resist temptation aren’t fixed capacities.  Subsequent experiments discovered that a child’s ability to resist temptation depended on their assessment of the trustworthiness of the experimenter.  When researchers demonstrated trustworthiness to children before the experiment, children trusted them and were better able to delay gratification.  When researchers broke trust, children took the reward they could see.  

What must Jesus have understood about God’s trustworthiness?  What do I understand about God’s trustworthiness?  Perhaps the ability to resist temptation has more to do with recognizing God’s faithfulness, than it does trying to manufacture some of our own.  

Imagine a conversation with Jesus.  Tell him about your temptations.  How does he respond?