1 John 2:15-17
Verse 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
We have discussed how important it is to love others, including our enemies but even in spreading this love we are not to be giving love to the things of this world.
It is so easy to be consumed with the various things this world has to offer. There are those that promise us comfort and ease which isn’t all bad but they can lead us down paths that we don’t want to go as Christians. It is easy to sit in judgment of those we hear about that are obsessed with certain things of this world, yet many of us have similar things in our lives that we may hide better.
John is talking about how we are not to love the things of this world, but loving things isn’t something that we give much thought to. We may find ourselves saying we love “such or such” on any given day. We don’t even think about what saying that means as the term has taken on such a casual meaning. We love the family, our car, our job, our favorite sports team, our favorite foods…and on and on the list goes. But do we really love those things?
To decide what really holds our affection we must see where our effort, energy and thinking is spent. Time spent at work is good and profitable in the way of maintaining our life but when we are working ourselves to death to get what we want instead of just focusing on what we have it has become an issue. When we spend our time thinking about what more we can have and how to get it we come to a point of no longer being content with what God has provided and that opens us up to covetousness.
John takes it even further for our understanding. In verse 16 of our passage he says, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” This attention that we are giving to everything that we come across shows that we are not finding satisfaction in God and what He gives. We seek things that will gratify our immediate desire and that shifts our focus from God to the things of this world. We must come to the understanding that the things of this world only please our flesh while God and His Word can, and will, satisfy us for eternity.
Making It Personal
What are some things that take your focus off from God? Why do those things have such a grip on your affections? What choices do you need to make to put things in their proper place?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you think about Jesus or other things more frequently? What things can take up your time and thoughts? What are some important things that you should be thinking about?
Closing Prayer
Father, You give us so much but we confess that there are times when we stop seeking You and turn to the things You give or the things that fascinate the world. Give us a longing that is for You and Your will above all else. In Jesus’ name, amen.