Joyful Joyful we adore thee
Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning
My spirit longs for thee
The spirit breathes upon the word
More love to thee oh Christ
O master let me walk with thee
Then let us adore and give him his right
because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
[13] I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
[14] I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
[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. [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.
(1 John 2:12-16 ESV)
The command to us is, don't love the world. It's addressed to the entire church.
Why if God loves the world are we not supposed to?
World here means the things of man, man astranged from God. This is the world that God says don't love this world. God lives the world in a redeeming way....a love of sympathy and compassion.
We are not to seek after
1. The desires of the flesh. We shouldn't want something too much.
- for instance eating food. Not evil. But we can want to eat things we don't need. When food becomes our comfort and joy.
2. The desires of the eyes. The first window of temptation.
3. Pride in our possesions. Being happy with all the things we own. Using our possessions as a way to build ourselves up. Jobs, material possessions, friends/people you know.
What lies at the heart of all this is this. Anyone has this within. To turn something good into something it is not supposed to be. It is so easy to look to the things of this world to make you happy. Who serves whom? If the things of this world make you happy, what is more important in your life?
This is a check to us.
Are we really aware that it all means nothing to us in the long run?
This world is passing away.
This world will be destroyed.
So why love the things of this world so much? They don't last, they don't really satisfy.
Check yourself.
What truly is most important?
Do not love the world.
Trust God and seek after him.