As I look back on the three temptations, I see that Satan proposed an enticing improvement. He tempted Jesus toward the good parts of being human without the bad: to savor the taste of bread without being subject to the fixed rules of hunger and of agriculture, to confront risk with no real danger, to enjoy fame and power without the prospect of painful rejection—in short, to wear a crown but not a cross.
From: The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey 📚
As I continue to consider this, I am confronted with my own desire to wear a crown and not a cross.