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. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of god abides forever.
The command (and main point): Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The reasons:
1. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you (v. 15)
2. All that is in the world is not from the Father (v. 16)
3. The world is passing away (v. 17)
Questions to ponder:
- Where in my life is the love of the world most evident?
- How does this command apply to the shows/movies I watch?
- How does this command apply to the clothes I wear?
- How does this command apply to my bank account?
This command reminds me of my favorite Augustine quote (prayer): "He loves Thee too little, who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake."
Ponder that and let me know if you get what Augustine was saying.
5 comments:
Justin,
In wrestling with issues of worldliness, I have found verses immensely helpful.
1 Tim 4:3-5, 1 Cor. 10:30-31, and Col. 3:18 all speak of "thanksgiving" as crucial in doing something for God's glory. So, I have often gone back to a quote by Joel Belz that has proved helpful:
"Can I sincerely bow my head and thank God for ___________________" If I can't, I need to stop arguing with myself (because, for me, it is sin) and I need to move onto something I can thank God for, and by application, for His glory.
Just a thought.
Dutch, here is my summary of Augustine's quote: If you love anything along with God you don't really love God; unless you love that thing for His sake.
For example: I love my wife but my love for my wife is not idolotry because I love her for the sake of Christ.
You gotta give better hints than that. All I caught was BSM.
Mark, your comments are always helpful. I have used a practice like that in my own mind.
I heard it put this way once...
"I don't love the blue sky, I love God because he made such a color blue."
Anywhere in life where we show that God is not our primary pursuit, our primary passion, we show that we do not treasure him above all things.
Augustine's quote has answered a thousand questions for me. Anything that can't be done worshipfully should not be done. Period.
yeah, that quote makes me think of things that are in my life that are meaningless- because they are not for His sake like my pride for instance!
I love myself and that is not for His sake! When I am loving myself (pride) I cannot love the Lord! Makes me think of this verse:
Psalm 10:4(nkjv)"The wicked in his proud contenance does not seek God, God is in none of his thoughts."
yeah, I really like that quote. I put it on my blog to talk about a TV show we happend upon last night-(lost)did not know what it was about. But it was total heresy! I guess they picked an appropriate name for the show! It was just a reminder to be so careful on what I use for entertainment purposes! TO make sure that I dont value my entertainment more than I do the Lord and His word!
In Christ alone,
Sarah
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