“Do Not Love the World”

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” — 1 John 2:15-17

At first glance, this seems an impossible command. Loving the world, if we are honest, comes very naturally. Especially in a materialistic society! But John realized something when he wrote this — that the world and its ways and its things are not lovely to begin with. The love of the Father drives us to love one another, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for the church (Eph. 5:25). The love of the world drives us to want more, more, more… The fastest, coolest car, the highest paying, most prestigious job, the most powerful computer… all the while disregarding what it may cost us in the long run.

I challenge you to ask the Lord to change your mindset. Ask that you may see the world and its ways as unlovely, that your desires for materials (which rust and rot before our eyes) will be replaced with desires for the hearts and souls of men. Ask that instead of craving the latest and greatest this world has to offer, you might crave pure spiritual milk (1 Pet. 2:2), and then as you grow, desire the true meat (Heb. 5:14) which is for those who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. So again, do not love the unlovely world and the unlovely things in the world. The world and its things and its desires will all pass away, so do the will of God that you may live forever!