I John 2:15... Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him...
Who does this world belong to? Who is its ruler? We find the answer in John 14:30. Satan is called the prince or ruler of this world. He reigns over its people and guides their steps. Now, we know that the ultimate being in control is God, but he has let Satan have dominion over it until an appointed time.
It we follow the "pattern of this world" then we are following Satan. If we love doing the things the world loves to do, then we love the world, or said in a different way, we love Satan. Verse 16 helps us to understand some of what the world loves.
The "cravings of sinful man" is one area the world excels in. There are a lot of cravings; pleasures - partying, clubbing. Things that destroy - killing, breaking things. Things that tear down others - gossiping, lying about or misrepresenting what people say, cheating others, sexual escapades. Escaping reality - alcohol, drugs, sexual trysts. There are other area as well.
Another mentioned is the "lust of the eyes." This is of course, sexual desires, but is also coveting what others have. It may be physical or intellectual and more.
And, the last mentioned is "boasting about what one has or does." "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." This is a big problem. I know it is more than just saying, "I'm so proud of you." Pride is a big issue. It gets us into lots of predicaments. We don't want to look silly or foolish or wrong, so we lie about things. We want everyone to respect us, so we pretend to know more than we really do then we can't handle the task we are given.
A and K, keeping oneself from being polluted by the world is a major theme of the Bible. I'd say it is probably in the top five areas of truths of the Bible, yet it is one of the least concerned about values among church goers. There are many things in this world I'd like to pursue, but they are so closely tied to the sinful ways of the world, I must stay away from them. It is not just that I do not want to be contaminated... It is mostly because I will get sucked into the "good" things and soon be following the evil that the "good things" were masking.
Daughters, never see how close you can get to the world without getting stained by it. Stay far enough away that when you help those caught in the world, you keep yourself from being pulled in. I believe this to be Satan's most effective temptation that traps Christians. Read anywhere in the Bible and you can see it is true. There is joy in doing "the will of the Father" and you will find his love with you.
~Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment