In the wilderness

There must be a thousand temptations,

any dozen of which assail us

in any given twenty-four hour period.

Each one is subtly different,

but when we collect them

and place them under a microscope

we find that they all share the same essential DNA;

that they have all evolved from the one stem.

Power, wealth, comfort,

(I must have that!)

To be left alone to enjoy a peaceful existence,

(somebody else's problem, not mine /

I've done my bit / am I my brother's keeper?)

To be free from pain, suffering

(and therefore to forsake the work of love).

These, and the countless others,

all share in the same evolutionary taxonomy.

One, three or a thousand,

we all face our temptations,

every day.

Like Jesus in his forty-day wilderness struggle,

and through the years that followed.

Every day we face our temptations

and hope, like him,

that we can overcome.

© Ken Rookes 2016