Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Love Not the World

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. - 1 John 2:15
Does that seem repetitive? When I thought about why the qualifying statement was needed, I realized that sometimes we draw a circle around certain behaviors and lifestyles and say, "That's the world. As long as I'm not all that, I'm not the world." Then we cherry-pick one thing from the circle and justify it by saying to ourselves, "It's not the world. The world is all that." John lists three worldly favorites for being cherry-picked:
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. - 1 John 2:16
I like the phrase "pride of life." Other translations show that it means ostentation. I've lived in places where it seemed that everyone's primary concern was obtaining and spending more money. They were rich with large houses, fine clothes, and many cars. Yet somehow they never seemed to have enough; they were consumed by the pride of life.

I'm in a position where I could be wealthy if I wanted to be. It's very appealing and something I think about frequently. The dream of a large house with money leftover to splurge on my family is appealing in many ways. I'm grateful for learning that there is no value in riches for the sake of riches; it often causes more problems than it solves.

Someday, those that are consumed by the pride of life will lose everything they have dedicate their life to and stand before God with very little to show.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. - 1 John 2:17

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