Daily Devotional

-November 12, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Don’t Love The World But Love God And Do His Will-

“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. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust if the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

(1 John 2:15-17).

The writer, the Apostle John, who was the disciple whom Jesus loved, makes it clear one cannot love the Father and the world at the same time. The devil, as he did in the Garden of Eden as the serpent, makes the world seem so desirable and pleasurable. Eve fell prey to his temptation as did her husband Adam. Thus sin entered into the world.

It is interesting to note that the word “world” is used five times in today’s text. In the NT, there are several Greek words used for world. The first is cosmos, the earth and sky and all that we can see around us; the second is the people of the earth as in John 3:16; and the third is the system of the world as it is in our text. This world’s system is against Christ. There is the political, economic, social, entertainment, business, sports, and religious aspects of the world. John says, “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.”

John specifically mentions the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Eve fell prey to its allure in Genesis 3:6, “So when the woman saw (the lust of the eyes), that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise (lust of flesh), and she took of its fruit and ate (the pride of life). Men and women are still being seduced by it today.

Achan, in the days of Joshua, was overcome by the same things. Joshua 7:20-21 says, “And Achan answered Joshua and said, ‘Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: when I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them.’” This also shows the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. He was the one responsible for Israel’s defeat at the first battle of Ai. Achan along with his wife, children, and his livestock, were all stoned to death.

It should be a stern warning to us today just how evil, wicked, sinful, and destructive the world is especially for the child of God. Just as Eve and Achan fell into sin and it took them down, so it can happen to us. Instead we should do the will of God and abide forever. Let us love God and not this world!

Have a blessed day being on guard against the world and doing the will of God. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean