Do Not Love the World (Part 2)
Avoid the 3 ways to walk astray
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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, because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.
1 John 2:15-16 (NET)
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3 main categories of love for worldly things exist here.
They are sort of broad & vague, but remember they are sort of “junk drawer” terms: Designed to hold anything and everything in their category.
1. Desire of the flesh
The things which our broken bodies crave that are either completely inappropriate for us, or should be used in moderation.
Easy examples here would be things like food, physical relationships, how you spend your time. All these things that require discipline to tame or eradicate (if necessary).
2. Desire of the eyes
Pretty much anything we envy.
I look at it, I want it, yet I know it’s inappropriate for me.
3. Pride of life
I like this translation because even though it loses the poetry of “pride of life” it does give us a more accurate picture of what that means. Basically, anything we can boast about that isn’t God.
And, really, how much boasting about our awesomeness with God can we actually do?
That just looks silly.
All right, that’s a way-to-quick overview of these worldly things.
And the point here is to give you a warning about what things might be in the way of your relationship with God. So, here’s the hard question to ask God:
“What do I love more than you?”
If you’re brave enough to ask — and I hope you are — know that whatever the answer is, it’s an invitation to move further into relationship with the Father.
In other words, it will help you become more like Jesus.
Isn’t that the ultimate goal?
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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