Political Temptation in the Desert

I guess I have been giving a little more thought to president Evo Morales and the new rule of the andino-indigenous masses in Bolivia. I mentioned a little in a previous post about how I was unsure of the idea of Christians taking power as a means of doing the work of the Kingdom of God. Well, I was reading a little story about Jesus' temptation in the desert and when I got to the second tempation-- Satan's offer of control and power over the nations-- something new struck me. Satan was offering Jesus the opportunity to overthrow the empire that was oppressing his people and making them miserable and to establish his own empire. He could have been the one to punish the enemies of God's chosen people. The temptation was to take hold of the empire and use it to usher in the new Kingdom of God. Interestingly, when the Devil says that all political power in the world belongs to him, Jesus did not refute the statement, he just refused the offer. Jesus saw the power of the government as the Devil's territory, not something to be sought after. Jesus knew the pain and suffering the empire had inflicted on his people, yet he chose the way of the cross to confront it instead of the way of power. Jesus' answer to the Devil was, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" To serve God alone is to not serve the power of this world. To pray "Your kingdom come" is to dethrone every other authority, especially those that claim to be absolute. If it is not so, wouldn't Jesus have just instructed his disciples to pray for God's blessing on the current king (or president)? Jesus enters into the story of his people and shows us a way to establish a Kingdom that does not require financial, military, and political power that that of kings and presidents.