John wrote what appears to be a disturbing text. "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). "Hang on, John. Aren't we supposed to love God and love our neighbor? Aren't we supposed to love everyone?" Well ... of course. But that's not what he's saying. He's not saying "Don't love everyone." He's talking about "the world" ... the world's systems ... the world of sin. He says so. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world" (1 John 2:16). Okay, so ... it's still disturbing. I mean ... we live here. And we shouldn't ... love here? No ... no we shouldn't.
It's not John's idea alone. Jesus said the world would hate us (John 15:18). He said, "In the world, you will have tribulation" (John 16:33) and assured us He has overcome it. When Jesus prayed His High Priestly Prayer in John 17, He prayed, "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours" (John 17:9). Paul makes a big deal about it in Ephesians. He told them to no longer walk as the Gentiles walk (Eph 4:17) and urged them to "lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Eph 4:22-24). He warned, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience" (Eph 5:6) and "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness" (Eph 5:11). There should be such a sharp distinction between "the world" and the people of God that "immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you" (Eph 5:3). Not ... even ... be named. He told the Corinthian Christians, "Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them" (2 Cor 6:17).
Scripture is not ambiguous on the subject. Don't love the world system. Don't be like the world. And we nod and agree ... and hear over and over about how Christians are just as bad as unbelievers ... in divorce, sexual immorality ... most everything. Brothers and sisters, these things ought not be. We're supposed to be different. A new self. Imitators of Christ. Radically changed. "Fitting in" should never be an aim or even an option for us. Loving the world as we too often do doesn't bode well for believers. A really bad version of "looking for love in all the wrong places." If you love the desires of the eyes and the flesh, and pride ... maybe "believer" isn't really what you are.
5 comments:
Even down to how we dress? (I jest.) We should be marked by our love for the world, but not of the world. We want to save people from the world, not embrace them in it. And because of our struggle with the old man, far too often we fail. Forgive us, Lord.
The various Scripture that you quoted today (as well as others) make it clear that Christians comprise a chosen group called out from the masses of people on this planet to live differently from the rest--not physically separate but as the spiritually distinct creatures we have become in Christ. Just as for the Hebrews in the OT, there are by necessity strong warnings for us against being enticed by worldly practices and systems, which are permeated by Satan’s influence. Only constant exposure to God’s Word and reflection upon His will keep us from slipping back into the all-too-comfortable worldly existence from which He called us. Avoiding worldliness is a lifelong endeavor, which (in my experience) doesn’t get any easier over time--yet it remains crucial. As my Wiersbe commentary on 1 John states, “Love for the world is the love God hates.”
David mentions (in jest) “how we dress” as part of the injunction, “do not love the world nor the things in the world,” and that strikes me as a valid area to consider, as fashion and clothing “norms” are a very obvious element of this world--and one clearly influenced by Satan. When contemplating avoiding worldliness in my appearance, I see several biblical directives related to our clothing (and accessories): Deut. 22:5; Mat. 6:25; 1 Tim. 2:9-10, 6:8; 1 Pet. 3:3-4; James 2:2-4; among others. One important passage related to dressing to fight worldliness, of course, is Eph. 6:11: “Put on the whole armor or God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
Beyond that instruction, I do wonder about the more extreme choices some well-intentioned people make in order to “be separate” from the world--specifically a physical removal from other people such as found in monastic lifestyles, pietistic societies, cloistered groups, Amish communities, etc. Does following these extreme lifestyles help stave off worldliness as successfully as members desire? (Has this ever been studied/reported upon?) And if I knew that these methods work, would I be willing to live that way myself?? Honestly, I am not sure…and that uncertainty makes me very uncomfortable!
I will close with a humorous incident related to pietistic communities. A few years ago, my husband and I toured the Ephrata Cloister, an historic site about an hour from our home. It’s a restoration of a monastic community founded in 1732 by German-born Johann Conrad Beissel. During our tour, we learned that community members followed personal deprivation in pursuit of holy living, including celibacy, sleeping (only six hours a night) on wooden benches with wooden blocks for pillows, and spending long hours in personal devotions and grueling community service. Another austere practice was an extremely restricted diet (one small vegetarian meal a day). At the close of our informative one-hour tour, during which this stringent diet was emphasized quite a bit, the docent said to the small group of us, “So are any of you interested in joining us in this holy lifestyle?” I piped up, “Considering that after we finish here, my husband and I are headed to an all-you-can-eat PA Dutch buffet restaurant, I would say ‘no.’” He just stared at me. (I still laugh about it.) :-D
How was the buffet? (Kidding)
Well, considering that a typical PA Dutch smorgasbord meal represents about a year’s worth of calories for a Cloister resident, we should have felt a bit guilty for indulging…but I don’t recall doing so!
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