Do Not Love This World

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17

WHAT IS “THE WORLD” that John says we are not to love? This is the same disciple who wrote that “this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Clearly, in John’s writings, the word world has a wide range of meaning.

When John writes here that we are not to love the world, he’s talking about the world that has abandoned its Creator and lives apart from his rule. To love this world is to love the values and pursuits of the world that stand opposed to God.

John says we are not to love this world “nor the things it offers you.” Does this mean we shouldn’t buy fashionable clothing or go to Disney World? Actually, John seems to be more concerned about what’s inside of us than the world outside of us. He warns us about our internal cravings for physical pleasure, material possessions, and personal glory. Loving the things of the world, according to John, is about the lustful look, the greedy gaze, and the wardrobe designed to impress or seduce. John wants us to understand that we simply cannot love all that God is and has to offer, and still love this world and all it has to offer.

The world has great appeal to us and to our kids. It is constantly wooing us into a love relationship, offering us pleasure in many forms. But it also lies to us. It refuses to tell us that it won’t last. The truth is that the world is fading away, while “anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

Lord, we need wisdom in this battle against the world in our home. Help us to recognize the internal battle going on in ________ as the world seeks to shape and satisfy ________’s cravings that only you can truly satisfy. This lifelong battle with worldliness cannot be won by sheer willpower or personal resolve, but only as our love for the world is replaced with a love that will never disappoint.