Day 12- The World
Today I stayed in 1 John chapter 2,
but focused on verses 15-17. The little section heading
in my Bible describes it perfectly- Do Not Love the
World. As straightforward as I initially thought it
was, the longer I dwelled on it the more questions
I had. I looked up a study by John MacArthur that
really helped me out.
Verse 15 tells us simply, “Do
not love the world or the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is
not in him.” Sounds fairly basic, but
you might start asking questions like, what about
the earth that God created and the people in it? How
can we not love those things? We need to first looks
at the meaning of “the world”
used here. Back in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve ate of
the tree, following Satan's desires. At that point,
Satan gained the rulership of the world,
and the term world took
on a new meaning: the evil system opposed to God that
now dominates this planet.
So it makes a little more sense now,
that obviously if you love the system that opposes
God, it’s inconsistent with a relationship with
God. The next verse talks about the things in the
world- lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes
and the pride of life. Again,
these things are in opposition with the Father because
they are of the world and not of Him. So what do these
things really mean so that we recognize what is not
of the Father, what is in opposition to His Word so
we can steer clear of it and not be trapped by it?
John MacArthur spelled these things
out so that I could understand them really well, so
I’m just going to quote his summary:
The Apostle John identifies the three springs
of evil in a climaxing sequence: sensuality,
covetousness, and pride.
Sensuality (lust of the flesh) is
the corruption of the lower part of man's nature--
his base desires. Covetousness (lust of the
eyes) is the corruption of a higher part.
It is a selfish desire for what is beautiful, whether
it is a woman, a car, a house, or a dress. But pride
(pride of life) is the highest corruption
of man's being. It is the exaltation of man himself.
By sensuality, man sinks to the level of animals;
by covetousness he competes on the level of men; by
pride he tries to reach to the heights of God. The
world is set to draw you into sin.
In verse 17 John points out that our time here is
not long and it will not last. If we’re consumed
with the world during our life here on earth,
we’re not preparing for an eternal, everlasting
life with God. Silly as it may sound, the story of
the little piggies and the wolf come to mind here.
Are we building our houses with straw (the world)
that will easily be blown over and destroyed at the
end of our life? Or are we building on the solid foundation
that is Christ, one that can never be destroyed?
Lord,
Thank You for giving me Your Word so that I know how
You want me to live. Thank You for opening my eyes
to the things I am tempted by and caught up in, and
how they just keep me further from You. Knowing what
these things are and recognizing my own weaknesses
in these verses, will help me be aware and on the
alert the next time I’m tempted. Help me to
remember Your Word, Lord through it all, that I might
glorify You instead of exalting myself.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
