What You Want

9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
Matthew 4:9

Jesus had every right to every kingdom ever established on this earth. That includes our own government. That includes those that Satan brought before him, parading them and taunting Jesus. Jesus had created every person in those kingdoms, given talents of design and architecture to build them. None of it would have existed if not for him.
He could have been angry. Jesus could have said, "Mine!" He could have shown us where we had gone wrong and enslaved us to show us how it is to be done. He could have brought swift justice on the human race. He could have appeased his desire for power right then and there.
Jesus was, and is, entitled to this planet, this universe. Satan told Jesus he oculd have it all if he would just worship him.
And what about you? Are there things you're entitled to? Someone owes you money possibly? Your lawnmower is still in your neighbor's garage? Justice should be served. The wreck wasn't your fault. You got a ticket while someone in a big SUV sped around you at twice what you were stopped for?
The world is full of injustice. Most of it is on a much greater scale than an unfair traffic ticket, too. The thing is, we believe that somehow our minds and hearts would find peace if justice was accomplished for us. Maybe Jesus thought that too. Maybe if he'd take control and force us into submission under his rule, all the pain would end. The crucifixion would not have to happen.
But the sin barrier would still exist. Sure, we'd be happy in a temporal sense, not having too many needs or wants. Maybe. But real life would still elude us. Love and joy would depart. We still couldn't know God, and thus life.
Jesus could have said, "Okay, I'll end world hunger. I'll wipe out slavery. I'll do what makes us all feel better and make the world a fairer, better place." But he didn't. He knew that to worship Satan was to give in to his own worldly desires. To worship God meant to obey. To obey meant to sacrifice. To sacrifice meant that true life and true joy could be offered to us. It was something that would transcend hunger, pain and suffering.
Jesus set the example. He faced three temptations. He prayed and struggled and came out on top because he knew and believed that God and God's word were more important and more powerful than himself. Can we say that same thing?