Be Careful What You Love

Introduction

A man once said to D. L. Moody, “Now that I am converted, must I give up to the world?” “No,” answered Moody, “you need not give up the world; if you give a ringing testimony for the Son of God, the world will give you up quickly. They will not want you around.”

How true that statement is. Once we become believers, our worlds and lives change. The friends you used to hang with no longer want you around because you don’t love the same things as they do.

Today, we will look at things of this world and why God tells us the one thing that we are not to love. John makes this point by showing us that if we are going to love God, we cannot also love the world. The two are mutually exclusive as objects of our love.

We know that God is love, and He loves perfectly. But because God loves perfect, He also hates perfectly. The two are inseparable. To love perfectly is to hate perfectly. That is to say, if you love something, you hate whatever threatens that something. If you love someone, you hate whoever threatens that someone. And the greater your love, the greater your hatred. The more affection you have for what is right, the more disaffection you have for what is wrong. That’s why Psalm 97:10 says, “Hate evil, you who love the Lord.”

So what’s wrong with the world?

Well, let's be honest: John 3:16 tells us that God loves the world. This world is the cosmos we see all around us; nature, space, and everything He created in Genesis 1 was good. So obviously, it is not the world that is a problem.

The world has another meaning in the New Testament. Sometimes, it is seen as an organized system of human civilization and activity that is opposed to God and alienated from him. It represents everything that prevents man from loving and obeying his creator. John Wesley once said, “Anything that cools my love for Christ is the world.”

Just as the Holy Spirit uses people to accomplish God’s will on earth, so Satan uses people to fulfill his evil purposes. Unsaved people, whether they realize it or not, are energized by “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:1–2).

Unsaved people belong to “this world.” Jesus calls them “the children of this world” (Luke 16:8). When Jesus was here on earth, the people of “this world” did not understand Him, nor do they now understand those of us who trust Him (1 John 3:1).

A Christian is a member of the human world and lives in the physical world, but he does not belong to the spiritual world, which is Satan’s system for opposing God. “If you were of the world [Satan’s system], the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but Jesus has chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18).

We believers are like scuba divers. The water is not man’s natural habitat, for he is not equipped for life. When a scuba diver goes under, he has to take special equipment with him so that he can breathe.

Were it not for the Holy Spirit’s living within us and our spiritual resources in prayer, Christian fellowship, and the Word, we could never “make it” here on earth. We complain about the pollution of the earth’s atmosphere—the atmosphere of “the world” is also so polluted spiritually that Christians cannot breathe normally!

What does the world do to us? It makes us worldly.

Worldliness is not so much a matter of activity as of attitude. It is possible for a Christian to avoid questionable amusements and doubtful places and still love the world, for worldliness is a matter of the heart. To the extent that a Christian loves the world system and its things, they do not love the Father.

Worldliness not only affects your response to the love of God; it also affects your response to the will of God. Doing the will of God is a joy for those living in the love of God. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” But when a believer loses his enjoyment of the Father’s love, he finds it hard to obey the Father’s will.

When you combine these two factors, you have a practical definition of worldliness: anything in a Christian’s life that causes him to lose his enjoyment of the Father’s love or his desire to do the Father’s will is worldly and must be avoided.

Are you responding to the Father’s love with your personal devotional life? Are you doing the Father’s will in your daily walk? These are two tests of worldliness.

Many things in this world are wrong, and God’s Word identifies them as sins. It is wrong to steal and to lie (Eph. 4:25, 28). All sexual sins are wrong (Eph. 5:1–3). Any type of sex outside of marriage between a husband and wife is wrong; that is biblically clear. Christians can have little or no debate about these and many other actions.

However, there are areas of Christian conduct that could be clearer, and even the best Christians disagree. In such cases, each believer must apply the test to his own life and be carefully honest in his self-examination, remembering that even a good thing thing good thing may rob a believer of his enjoyment of God’s love and desire to do God’s will.

John points out that the world system uses three devices to trap Christians: the lust/desire of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). The lust of the flesh includes anything that appeals to man’s fallen nature.

God has given man specific desires, and these desires are good. Hunger, thirst, weariness, and sex are not at all evil in themselves. There is nothing wrong with eating, drinking, sleeping, or begetting children. But when the flesh nature controls them, they become sinful “lusts.” Hunger is not evil, but gluttony is sinful. Thirst is not evil, but drunkenness is a sin. Sleep is a gift of God, but laziness is shameful. Sex is God’s precious gift when used rightly, but when misused, it becomes immorality. Are you following me?

The second device that the world uses to trap the Christian is called “the lust of the eyes.” We sometimes forget that the eyes can have an appetite! The lust of the flesh appeals to the lower appetites of the old nature, tempting us to indulge them in sinful ways. The lust of the eyes, however, operates more refinedly. Here are pleasures that gratify the sight and the mind—sophisticated and intellectual pleasures.

Like the other senses, the eyes are a gateway into the mind. Therefore, the lust of the eyes can include intellectual pursuits that are contrary to God’s Word. There is pressure to make Christians think the way the world thinks. God warns us against “the counsel of the ungodly.” This does not mean that Christians ignore education and secular learning; it does mean they are careful not to let intellectualism crowd God into the background.

The third device is the “boastful pride of life.” God’s glory is rich and full; man’s glory is vain and empty. The Greek word for “pride” was used to describe a braggart who was trying to impress people with his importance. People have always tried to outdo others in their spending and their getting. The boastful pride of life motivates much of what such people do.

Yes, the world appeals to a Christian through the lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life. And once the world takes over in one of these areas, a Christian will soon realize it. He will lose his enjoyment of the Father’s love and his desire to do the Father’s will. The Bible will become boring, and prayer will be a difficult chore. Even Christian fellowship may seem empty and disappointing. It is not that something is wrong with others, however—what’s wrong is the Christian’s worldly heart.

It is important to note that no Christian suddenly becomes worldly. Worldliness creeps up on a believer; it is a gradual process. First is the friendship of the world(James 4:4). By nature, the world and the Christian are enemies (“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you,” 1 John 3:13). A Christian who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God.

Next, the Christian becomes “spotted by the world” (James 1:27). The world leaves its dirty marks on one or two areas of his life. This means that the believer gradually accepts and adopts the world's ways.

When this happens, the world ceases to hate the Christian and starts to love him! So John warns us, “Love not the world!”—but too often, our friendship with the world leads to love. As a result, the believer becomes conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2), and you can hardly tell the two apart. That is why we must be careful what we love.

Conclusion

A Christian must decide, “Will I live for the present only, or will I live for the will of God and abide forever?” Jesus illustrated this choice by telling about two men. One built on the sand and the other on the rock (Matt. 7:24–27). Paul referred to the same choice by describing two kinds of material for building: temporary and permanent (1 Cor. 3:11–15).

Our love for the world is the love God hates. It is the love a Christian must shun at all costs!

To better illustrate the love of the world which of these really disturbs you?

A soul lost in Hell … or a scratch on your new car?

You missing the worship service … or missing a day with your family and friends?

A sermon 10 minutes too long … or lunch half an hour late on Sunday?

A church not growing … or your garden not growing?

Your Bible unopened … or your Social Media Notification unread?

The church work being neglected … or housework neglected?

Missing a good Bible study … or your favorite TV program?

The millions who do not know Christ … or your inability to keep up with the neighbors?

The cry of the multitude for bread … or your desire for another piece of German chocolate cake?

Your tithes decreasing … or your income decreasing?

Your children or grandchildren late for Sunday school and Church … or late for travel ball?

Which really disturbs you most?

—The Bible Friend