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Is Worldly Living Worth It?
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 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. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” I John 2:15-17
John began Chapter 2:12 by addressing believers according to their level of maturity in the faith. The first stage after coming to Christ are those who we could call “beginners” because the Christian life is new to them, they are just starting out in their walk with Christ, and they have much to learn. The most important thing for them to know in the beginning is that their sins are forgiven, and their lives will be somewhat or very different from now on depending on their previous lifestyle. Had they been reared in a Christian home and already knew a good bit about how to live as a Christian, they have a head start in comparison to those who haven’t a clue about living for Christ.
John also addressed the fathers, not necessarily the fathers of new Christians, but rather the older believers, those who were much more mature in the faith. Even so, no matter how long one has been a Christian, he or she still has much to learn. It is astonishing how one can read a particular passage in scripture many times, and then, one day, it is like a light bulb goes off in one’s head to discover something in that passage that he or she had never seen before. Studying God’s word is a real adventure because one never knows what truth will be revealed to him or her, and God will reveal His truths if we are searching for them.
John then addressed the young men who were not novices in the faith, but not yet mature. They succeeded past the point of uncertainty, doubt, and ignorance as those who are new to faith in Christ naturally are and had accumulated a good amount of knowledge of Christ and how believers must strive toward excellency in their walk with Him. They had learned much about how Satan tried to deceive those who follow Christ and were not easily swayed by his lies. They had learned to resist the devil in order to make him flee (James 4:7). Why would Satan waste his time in continually harassing a committed Christian when he saw that it was getting him nowhere? I think that he had rather go after the new or immature Christian, but he still hassles those who have been saved for a long time. Those who are lazy, indifferent, or not committed wholeheartedly to Christ are much more vulnerable to his schemes.
John then gave his readers one of the most valuable admonitions that applies to all believers in Christ: don’t love the world nor any of the things in the world. Those who love the world do not love God for they put worldly desires ahead of God. They make worldly things their god, and God made it clear that no one was to have any gods before Him (Exodus 20:3). He didn’t just mean that commandment for His people but for every person that has ever been born. An idol is not just a wooden, stone, or metal image as was worshiped in ancient times, but anything that one places more value and attention on than the LORD God, and that includes people, animals, wealth, prestige, position, or self. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 that it is impossible to serve God and anything else that is considered a god. It’s either One or the other. God warned the Israelites in Exodus 23:33 that to serve other gods besides or instead of Him would be a trap to them. Millions, perhaps billions of people today, both Jew and Gentile, are caught in that trap.
John then became specific about what constitutes the “world”. He is not speaking of the creation that God made to give men and women an abode, a place to live, work, raise families, and enjoy the beauties of nature. He is speaking about how man has polluted and perverted what God made for man’s benefit. Romans 1:25 tells us that people who do not know God nor recognize Him as the sovereign and Holy God over His creation, worship His creation instead of Him. People do not love; they lust out of their pride. They want to satisfy their flesh through immorality with their bodies seeking to please their craving of sex in ways totally against God’s intended purpose for sex–one man, one woman united in holy matrimony for life. The world also lusts for what they see–wealth, prestige, power, control, and whatever they believe will make them happy. They are so full of pride that they think they don’t need God. Any success they have, they think they did it on their own, but Jesus said in John 15:5 that without Him, people can do nothing.
Thus, it is futile to believe that one can make it on his own without God. The world and everything in it will one day be gone, but those who do God’s will, repenting, receiving Christ, and living for Him, will live forever with Him. Those who reject Him will live forever in hell. Is worldly and selfish living worth it?