TEACHINGS FROM GOD | 05 | How Not to Love This World
Be not of this world, little children, for you are citizens of heaven.
Hello,
Welcome to Teachings from God, a section where I share lessons the Lord teaches me during my Bible Study. It is my prayer that as you read this, His Spirit illuminates the eyes of your understanding so that you know Christ more and more. If this is your first time on Bud and Blossom, feel free to check for older posts here.
You may be familiar with this phrase “love not the world.” This statement originates from Scripture and serves as a firm warning to God's people against being fond and attached to the present things of life.
Unfortunately, not very many of believers understand in-depth the magnitude and intensity of this warning. Some of us are not quite certain about the reason for this warning. This teaching is set to expound on this and highlight practical ways we can prevent this world or its content from becoming our heart treasures through the example of Jesus Christ, our Pattern.
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. - 1 John 2:15-17, KJV
What is Love of the World?
The Greek word, agapaw translated to “love” in this biblical passage denotes a contentment, fondness or welcoming nature of a person towards something. World on the other hand, indicates the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures which are hollow and fleeting, stir desire and seduce people from God and serve as obstacles to the cause of Christ in a person’s life.
Putting these two words together, it is clear that the love of the world is an affection of a person towards ungodly or mundane things. In detailed terms, it is a state whereby an individual is well-pleased and satisfied with the earthly pleasures and endowments that this world (has to) offers, to the detriment of their spiritual growth and eternal joy.
Aspects of Love of the World
In 1 John 2:15-17, Apostle John gave a clear breakdown of major aspects of the love of the world in his writing to fellow believers. These include:
Lust of the flesh
Lust of the eyes
Pride of life
Lust of the flesh deals with the desires of our body that do not conform to God's will and Word at any given time. This ranges from sins such as all forms of sexual immorality to gluttony, drunkenness. Simply put, lust of the flesh involves deliberate self-indulgence and exalting one's body over the will of God1
Lust of the eyes deal with the things we see. Our eyes are the gateway to our body and it is necessary to guard ourselves by scrutinizing what we give our eyes to. When we let our eyes feed on what we cannot have or do not need, covetousness sets in, and leads to envy, theft, jealousy and strife. This type of lust often leads to commissions of sin and ungodly pleasures.
Pride of life centres on the things that affect one’s esteem or self-interest. Prestige, power, popularity are elements pursued; a yearning to be exalted and recognized, to be seen and desired. It involves the things that make us feel good about ourselves which include flattery, egoistical talks, arrogance, boastful speech, narcissism.
Lust and Pride: Core Attributes of the Enemy
The first occurrence of sin in the world did not begin with Adam. From Scripture, we learn that Lucifer lusted after God's throne, when he was still a cherubim and thought himself high and worthy of worship before he was casted out of heaven.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.” - Isaiah 14:12-15, NKJV
This biblical text highlights lust and pride as two main characteristics of the enemy. Although he no longer dwells in heaven and has already received his eternal judgement, satan still influences humans to desire things that are not of the Holy Trinity to their impending doom and destruction. He is the ruler of this world and its activities, and constantly uses wiles to lure people into his web of lies and death.
Learn from the Master
Not loving the world first begins with a solemn determination in one’s will. This is crucial as it precedes other guidelines that can be employed to avoid getting entangled in the affairs of the earth.
The temptation of Jesus Christ exemplifies how believers can dodge the bullets of lust and pride thrown at us during our sojourn in this perverse world.
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. - Luke 4:1-13, NKJV
To give more context to this temptation, Jesus Christ had just been baptized by John the Baptist and was led by the Holy Ghost into the wilderness, where He stayed for forty days fasting (and prayer, as this naturally follows fasting).
As a non-foodie, I know what it feels to need food in certain moments but have none. Imagine then how famished and tired our Lord must have been at this time. The devil identified this time of vulnerability and weakness and decided to strike, hoping for His fall.
These temptations highlight lust of the flesh (turn stones to bread), lust of the eyes (the array of kingdoms) and pride of life (validation of His Sonship) that satan presented to Jesus who refused on all counts.
How then can we, brothers and sisters, not love the world as Jesus Christ did?
Deny Yourself
In the Gospels, Jesus echoes self-denial as an attribute His disciples must have, if they desire to follow Him.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? - Matthew 16:24-26, KJV
Paul reiterates this in Romans where he explicitly urges us to place ourselves on God’s altar so that we can be purified and transformed in our desires, thoughts and deeds.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. - Romans 12:1-2, KJV
Jesus Christ did not give into satan’s suggestions despite being hungry. Instead, He endured the temporary need He had. Similarly, we must not let our interim needs and wants make us comply with the enemy at any given moment.
Speak and Stay in the Word of God
Not only did Jesus refuse to sin, He also combated the devil with God’s Word. Using passages from the book of Deuteronomy, Jesus Christ fought the enemy and the temptations he presented. This is very crucial as it emphasizes the truth of God’s Word as our weapon in times of intense battle.
Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us a vivid illustration of the need to put on God’s armour especially in this time where the world is intensely wicked and perverse. Satan is going around looking for saints to deceive and destroy, and only by staying fully protected, and holding the Sword of the Word, can we slice through the kingdoms of darkness and remain strong always.
Rebuke the Devil
Time and time again, we are instructed to ensure there are no loopholes in our lives that can give the enemy room for foul play. He is an opportunist and we must constantly check ourselves and weed out unwanted things that may give him leeway.
Furthermore, we see that in this season of trial, Jesus resisted satan and he eventually withdrew. Though Scripture tells us this departure was momentary, the enemy left Jesus when he realized his plans had failed. As believers, we must not get weary in resisting the enemy for he will definitely flee when we rebuke him with God’s Word.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. - James 4;7, KJV
Neither give place to the devil. - Ephesians 4:27, KJV
Focus on the Father
In all that Jesus Christ did, His focus on the Father kept Him going. Not only was this illustrated in the temptation accounts, but also in His ministry. Jesus constantly emphasized how everything He did was to please His Father and no one else. It didn’t matter what others thought of Him; He didn’t care either save the Father’s opinion.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. - John 6:38, KJV
Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. - Psalm 143:10, KJV
When our Papa becomes the main focus of our being and all we seek is to please Him, we will be able to look beyond ourselves and pursue His will in times when we are tempted. Every thing we do in Him — relationship and service — is given to us by His grace. Yet, we have a responsibility to constantly align with the King, His Word, His Spirit and His desires so that the debris of seeking approval from the world can be excavated from our lives. Only then will we be able to see Him more, seek His good will, surrender daily and follow Him above the noise of the earth.
Dear You,
The Kingdom of God is a serious matter. Everyday, we are faced with a decision to follow Christ through His Word and Spirit or the devil, who dictates to us through the affairs of this world. More than ever, we must always focus on the Father, and guard our hearts with all diligence lest we stray from His beautiful design and purpose for our lives in this current reality and eternity.
Jesus is coming back and only those who prepare for His arrival will see Him. Being ready involves a high level of detachment from things that can poison one's focus on the Master. The world is full of many distractions that present themselves in direct and indirect forms and immersing one's heart into them to the detriment of your relationship with Jesus is not God's will.
We must be stripped and bare for our King, circumcized in our hearts and free from all ills. We must not compromise our love for Him nor follow the world.2
Burn for Jesus and remain loyal to Him.
I need to add a disclaimer that this does not imply we should neglect the care of our bodies. God gave us our bodies as His vehicles to do His will on earth, and so, we must look after our health and lifestyle in general. Yet, there is a thin line that if we exceed, becomes narcissism and carnality, which God does not approve of. Scripture encourages us to be temperate in our dealings and apply moderation to our affairs. See 1 Corinthians 9:27-29, Philippians 4:5
Further readings about love of the world can be found in Galatians 5:16-26 and 2 Timothy 3.
Amen, this is such a good message! Scripture describes that he is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24). All glory belongs to him and he is to come first in our lives.