"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves 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 boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:15-17)
Beloved, Perhaps one of the clearest signs of a believer’s relationship with God is their attitude toward worldliness. The apostle John uses the word “world” to describe a system of thought and behavior centered on the individual. In this system, the adage “Dog eat dog” certainly applies in that everyone is motivated to ultimately do what is most expedient for themselves regardless of the damage caused to others. In fact this world system is the complete opposite of the faithfulness and self-sacrificing commitment described by John’s use of the word “love.” Although the degree to which people may profess loyalty toward the world will vary in shades of morality, ethics, legality or religiosity, we are told that the child of God is not to show any commitment or partiality toward things of the world. It is not good enough that as a Christian I am not engaged in murder, I should not even accept the fact that murder is perpetrated in our society. What I mean is that abortion is murder and as a Christian I cannot close a blind eye to the fact that literally thousands of babies are killed in this way each day. It is not good enough that as a Christian I may be vocal about the ills of homosexuality, I should be actively speaking out against all forms of sexual behavior that does not conform to the Biblical standard. This includes pornography, cohabitation of any unmarried persons or any sexual relationship that is contrary to the natural procreative process given by God. As a Christian, it is not good enough that I simply refrain from behaviors that are known as “bad,” I must also be actively engaged in obedience to the commands of God given to His beloved children; and if I am unwilling to do this, I should really consider if I am truly a child of God. Where the rub comes in is the fact that many of those who profess Christ today say they know and love God but they still cling to the old love affair with the pleasures of the world. They say they worship God but once Sunday morning service is over, their lifestyle doesn’t look much different from those who spent Sunday morning at the local sports bar. In essence, they have stood at the marriage alter claiming they love Jesus while they still hold on to their “little black book” of previous lovers. John tells us that saying we love One while holding on to the other is not consistent with who God has re-created every believer to be. The change God brings into a believer’s life is so radical that hatred and bitterness cannot remain. Lust, adultery or immorality cannot remain. Worry, doubt and self-centered entitlement cannot remain. They have all been done away with in the 2C517 event (2 Corinthians 5: 17) and because we cannot serve two masters, we must love the one and hate the other (Matthew 6: 24). The question is which one do you hate?
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