In But Not Of

In but Not Of

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. 1 John 2:15

In the world, but not of it.

Today’s verse from 1 John is an addendum to Jesus’ prayer for His disciples in John 17, when He asks God to protect the followers He is leaving behind in the world. Sometimes I think it would have been so much easier for God to remove His followers from the world rather than leaving us in the world. No, in fact in looking back on my life, I know it would have been much easier.

I used to get questions from people all the time about how I could justify working in the football “world” and being a Christian. “It’s such a violent game”; “What about all the bad language?”; “How can you justify playing games on Sunday?” I would always answer that I had to be careful to try to bring Christ’s light to that “world” without getting swallowed up by it. I believe that’s what God calls us to do. Without a doubt, spending time in a locker room or on a football team definitely has its moments of being in the world.

But I also have come to realize that God can only use us in the world if we are in fact “in the world.” The tension that may arise there requires much godly wisdom and the Holy’s Spirit’s leading.

So what does it mean to be “in the world but not of it”? Have you ever been in situations where you feel uncomfortable from the first moment? You don’t need to merely follow along blindly and do everything the world does. I know a pastor who regularly sees popular movies, not because he wants to support them, but because he feels he needs to understand the culture that the youth from his church are coming from.

Is that being in the world? Or of it? That’s not my call. I can only go by what I see in him. Does he begin to look and act like the “world” depicted in those movies?

Both extremes can be easy to fall into. We can buy into everything the world does, but then we’re polluting ourselves with everything that’s out there. We can also withdraw from everything in the world. I know a guy who said he was only going to “drink milk from a Christian cow” from now on. I think he was kidding. Sometimes it would be clearer to have an easy solution, but God wants us to work it out, to be salt and light to those around us. Salt and light. Adding His flavor and vision.

Uncommon Key > How can you live in an R-rated world—in it—while staying clear of it? Have you headed toward either extreme? Determine where you are and make adjustments. Stay close to God, and let His wisdom and leading guide you.