The Dichotomy of Love

Intro

I am going to make two statements. And y’all tell me if they can coexist.

I love the New Orleans Saints. I love the Atlanta Falcons.

Absolutely not. If you’re really a Saints fan, you wouldn’t be caught dead saying you love the Falcons. And likewise, if you’re a Falcons fan, you might wish you were a Saints fan. But the two just cannot coexist!

Likewise, let’s read this passage and see how this relates.

The Command v. 15

1 John 2:15 “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.”

The command is clear that we are NOT to love this world or the things of this world. But what does that mean?

The word used for love here is the same word that John uses in the rest of his letter to refer to the love of God, Agape. So that tells me that we aren’t supposed to Agape this world. We aren’t dedicated to this world unconditionally. We aren’t sacrificing our lives for this world. However, we were put in this world for a reason. We weren’t just created to live an isolated life.

While it would be awesome to only be around other Christians and never have to be faced with evil, that is nearly impossible in today’s society, right? We are going to be around evil. And what the Bible is saying here is to not fall in love with the evil that is around you. Don’t buy into the lies. Don’t succumb to the powers around you.

He didnt tell us to completely isolate from the world. He told us don’t love the world.

What does loving the world mean?

Agape love is an unconditional and unwavering love. This word Is used to describe the love God has for us, the love a man should have for his wife, and the love we should have for our neighbor. So what the Bible is saying here is that while we are to be in the world, we cannot let any of that creep in to take the rightful place of our agape.

Our top level love should be reserved for the Lord, our spouse, and our neighbor.

Our love for our job comes lower. Our love for hobbies come lower. Our love for anything else that may not even be “evil” comes lower!

You cannot say that you love God and put ANYTHING before him and his glory.

That includes skipping out on worship to go watch sports or to work.

The Condition v.16

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

The Bible says that everything that our flesh desires in the world is not from God but from the world. This doesn’t only mean that which is evil. Of course we know that addiction to drugs is from the world, but so is addiction to social media. Of course we know that adultery is from the world, but so is lust. Of course we know that theft is from the world, but so is jealousy. We know that there are things that are blatant sins, but there are other things that seem harmless that are also sins that we commit daily.

If you are too focused on someone else’s life that you miss the blessings that God gave to you, you are sinning. If you allow the “norms” of life to get in the way of your relationship with God, you are sinning.

There are things in our lives that are good. But when we let the good things get in the way of the best thing, they become the worst things.

The easiest way for the devil to cripple the church is to distract the members of the church. Do not get distracted. We have a mission.

The Consequence v.17

1 John 2:17 “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Now let’s lok at the eternality of everything.

The world, and everything in it, will be passing away. The Bible clearly states that there is no eternal value to the things of this world.

When we die, our job will replace us within a week, if not sooner. Any money that you made stays here. Anything that you have bought stays here. Any trophys or awards that you have won stays here. All these things that we work so hard for and long for are temporary. They will soon be forgotten once we are no longer here.

Without researching it, who can tell me the winner of the 1990 NBA finals? The 1999 Superbowl? (Pistons) (Broncos)

Who scored the winning score of last year’s Superbowl? (Harrison Butker)

These were major events that millions of dollars were spent and earned at, yet we have soon forgotten.

Our purpose on this earth is not to be focused on the temporal, but the eternal.

When we do the will of God we will abide forever. The only way to do the will of God is to be within his grace. We must be a born again believer in Jesus to receive eternal life.