Pastor Mensah Otabil recently addressed the congregation about the dangers of succumbing to temptations driven by unchecked desires, drawing from the biblical story of Jesus Christ’s first temptation.
“The first temptation of Jesus was a temptation of appetites,” Pastor Otabil stated, emphasizing that temptations related to food, fame, popularity, and greatness are often the most alluring. “Everything Satan showed him was feeding his appetite,” he added, highlighting how these desires can easily lead individuals astray.
The pastor pointed out how fame and wealth can be enticing, noting, “If you want to be great, I will make you great. If you want to show off, I will help you.” He stressed that these desires are often linked to basic human needs, like food. “Some of us are so basic in our needs that food can just survive us,” he remarked, sharing how something as simple as food could be used to manipulate people’s decisions.
He also referred to how food can sometimes play a role in breaking relationships. “I hear people say that someone stole somebody’s husband with food—light soup, groundnut soup—and just like that, someone loses everything,” he said, illustrating the power food can have in influencing people’s actions.
Turning to the temptations of fame and money, Otabil warned that if these become one’s main desires, others can exploit them. “If fame is your appetite, people will give you fame. If money is your appetite, people will give you money,” he pointed out. He cautioned that some individuals, driven by the appetite for wealth, may lose their moral compass. “Some people will kill friends, they will kill everybody, they will kill everything, and they will do everything to get their money.”
“Money is not safe,” Pastor Otabil concluded, urging the congregation to recognize these temptations and avoid letting desires dictate their actions, reminding them to remain steadfast in faith and integrity.
