"Do not love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you do not love the Father." (1 John 2:15 GNB)
LOVE: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
God is warning us in the text above never to have a warm attachment, enthusiasm or devotion to the world system. If we do, our love for the Father will be squeezed out of our lives. The love for the Father and the world are counter-productive. One will cancel out and destroy the other.
"For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world." (I John 2:16 NKJV)
The next verse began to address the issues of indices to prove that you love the world. Everything that is in the world are attracted to a man via these three media. They are:
The Lust of the Flesh: The tendency to satisfy the human nature is clear indication of love for the world.
The Lust of the Eyes: This is the reason the advertising industry is a big business! The industry flourishes on the lust of the eyes. This does not mean advertising a product is evil in itself. After all if you do not notify people about a product, how will they get to know about it? But the issue is, this may have been perverted. The amount of sensual images paraded in the name of advertising is alarming. These are to appeal to something at the root of human nature.
The Pride of Life: The feeling of accomplishment that is not rooted in fulfilling God's purpose. It is vanity to feel proud about fulfilling a purpose outside the will of God. Such feats vanishes away like vapour, in little or no time.
Death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross brought an end to the workings of these factors in our lives. Dying and rising with Christ resets our affections and makes them to be directed towards God and everything about Him(Colossians 3:1-2)
ACTION PLAN: Are these three factors still operational in your life? Re-examine your new birth again.
PRAYER: 1. Father, uproot the love for the world in my heart.
2. Immunize me against the influence of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
LOVE: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
God is warning us in the text above never to have a warm attachment, enthusiasm or devotion to the world system. If we do, our love for the Father will be squeezed out of our lives. The love for the Father and the world are counter-productive. One will cancel out and destroy the other.
"For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world." (I John 2:16 NKJV)
The next verse began to address the issues of indices to prove that you love the world. Everything that is in the world are attracted to a man via these three media. They are:
The Lust of the Flesh: The tendency to satisfy the human nature is clear indication of love for the world.
The Lust of the Eyes: This is the reason the advertising industry is a big business! The industry flourishes on the lust of the eyes. This does not mean advertising a product is evil in itself. After all if you do not notify people about a product, how will they get to know about it? But the issue is, this may have been perverted. The amount of sensual images paraded in the name of advertising is alarming. These are to appeal to something at the root of human nature.
The Pride of Life: The feeling of accomplishment that is not rooted in fulfilling God's purpose. It is vanity to feel proud about fulfilling a purpose outside the will of God. Such feats vanishes away like vapour, in little or no time.
Death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross brought an end to the workings of these factors in our lives. Dying and rising with Christ resets our affections and makes them to be directed towards God and everything about Him(Colossians 3:1-2)
ACTION PLAN: Are these three factors still operational in your life? Re-examine your new birth again.
PRAYER: 1. Father, uproot the love for the world in my heart.
2. Immunize me against the influence of the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
