1 John Chapter 2

¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

~ 1 John 2:15-16 ~

Last Saturday, Pr Shim gave a sermon on the Christian’s Conundrum. Among the difficulties, a Christian face is what John wrote in 1 John 2:16 – the lust of the flesh, eyes and the pride of life.

It was a timely reminder as we continue to face many challenges in our lives and it is a struggle to be of the Father and not of this world when everything around us is moving in the direction of the evil one.

To reject the things of the world, it is not enough to just say, “don’t love the world”. One needs to take specific and strong actions.

John did not say that we cannot have anything to do with what is in the world. But he says “Do not love the world or the things in the world”. Do not set your hearts on them. Do not think of them as important. Do not even for a second entertain some thoughts about them.

The devil uses the subtlety of the desires of our flesh, eyes and pride to draw us to allow it to occupy our minds and hearts. And if we are not watchful, we will fall.

I like the example Pr Shim used. It is like a cockroach.

These insects are simply difficult to kill it you just give it a tap. What is needed is a good hard smash so that it is completely smashed up and unable to crawl again.

This is how we need to deal with our lust and desires. If you even give it a little room to wriggle, it will come back again and again.

John ends this section by saying this:

¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

~ 1 John 2:17 ~

He reminds us that the world is fleeting. It will pass away no matter how wonderful it seems now. And similarly, all the lusts and desires and pride will too go.

But our souls are eternal. We should be focusing our lives on things that matter, things that will last, and not things that are not only sinful, but only for the moment.

Doing the will of God will abide forever in Him. And to do that, we need our daily Bible Reading, Prayer and Fellowship with our Lord and Savior.

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