Do Not Love The World

I love this passage of scripture today that I read in 1 John 2:15-17. Here's what it says from my NASB Bible. "Do not love the world, nor 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 lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever."
Paul tells us in Romans 12:2 "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." I can see that attitude immediately in verse 15. But check out the "warning" of this passage which is in verse 16.

"lust of the flesh" - A preoccupation with gratifying physical desires in your life.

"lust of the eyes" - A craving for and accumulating of things (materialism) in this world.

"boastful pride of life" - An obsession with one's status or importance in this world.

So where am I going with this? I'll bet you can guess! Back to the beginning. Look back at Genesis 3:6 where it says, "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate." So in this verse we can see the three points that the Apostle John was bringing to light and also a fourth dimension. Look and see that she gave to her husband and he ate also of the forbidden fruit.

"and he ate also" - Adding a social dimension to sin. Sin not only effects the sinner but sometimes those around him/her.

"And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever" (Vs. 17). If we profess to be "Born Again, Christians," and it is our desire to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of our lives, we cannot help but see the deterioration taking place in our world today. Integrity is being replaced with convenience. The truth is being twisted for a lie. I wish I had the time and space to share with you all, two days of conversation back and forth with three women and a man who were obviously deceived and not willing to accept the truth of God's Word over their "Religion". Nobody is responsible for anything. And so goes the neighborhood!

In the beginning of the book, original sin made its way into the world. The New Testament declares the seriousness of this sin and at the end of the book (Revelation), God judges, the just and the unjust. The signs are getting easier to see every day.

Are you in the right neighborhood? Ask yourself this one question. If I don't wake up in the morning, where will my soul find itself? If you are not sure, perhaps its time to move! Click here to find out how!

Dave