“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” (1 John 2:15 ESV). The Christian life is to be one characterized by love. We are called to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-40). Those who do that, who follow God’s command to love, who love like Christ, belong to Him. Yet, where does our love stop? Is there a limit or are there things that we are not to love? The apostle John answered that question in 1 John 2:15.
John started by warning us not to “love the world or the things in the world.” What was he talking about? We might think back to the Gospel according to John and remember that famous passage, the one everyone knows, the one we see at sporting events (John 3:16), which speaks of God’s love for the “world.” This is certainly a great passage of Scripture, one that teaches us the way that God loves the world. God has loved the world or has shown His love for the world by giving His Son, Jesus. However, how can God love the world and yet John instructed us not to love the world? Is this some kind of contradiction?
The word “world” is like any other word. It has different meanings depending on the context in which it appears. If I said “grab the mouse,” you might not want to do that if I was talking about an animal called a “mouse,” but you would have no issue following those instructions if what I was pointing to was a computer “mouse.” Context is key.
John 3:16 talks about humanity, people, the human family. God loves the human race. He loves all people, all kinds of people, but in John’s letter, he wrote about worldliness—a system that has no room for God, a system that places self above God.
Worldliness has to do with greed, hate, gossip, slander, adultery, fornication, lying, cheating, etc. What about materialism and gluttony? Are these also a part of this “world”? Absolutely.
One article said this about materialism.
The belief that material possessions improve individuals’ personal and social well-being permeates America. However, contrary to this belief, multiple studies show that materialists, compared to non-materialists, have lower social and personal well-being. Compulsive and impulsive spending, increased debt, decreased savings, depression, social anxiety, decreased subjective well-being, less psychological need satisfaction, and other undesirable outcomes have all been linked with materialistic values and materialistic purchasing behaviors. (https://www.beyondthepurchase.org/blog/03/is-the-united-states-materialistic/)
That’s from a secular magazine; that is not the Bible, and yet it talks about the dangers and destructive nature of being materialistic. The problem is that is our culture and most people are wrapped up in it.
More and more people are in debt because they buy things they cannot afford. We buy things we do not need to impress people who do not like us so we can feel good about ourselves. Again, materialism is just one aspect of worldliness.
John warned about loving the world, becoming wrapped up in this wicked and evil system, which puts stuff above God, that puts desires above God and that puts self above God. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. Why is that true? Part of the problem is that you cannot love the world and love God at the same time. The love of the world simply pushes God out, and at its basic level is enmity, ill-will or hatred toward God (Luke 16:13).
James says, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4). A person has to choose. Does he want a relationship with God or does he desire the things of this world?
“Well,” someone might ask, “What do I get if I follow the world? What do I get if I follow God?” John went on to tell us that the world is passing away along with whatever is attached to it. All of that materialism and self-ism is all connected to the world, and John informed us that the world is passing away. You might have lots of stuff here and now, you might have popularity and educational accolades, but that is it. What lasting joy or meaning is found in the stuff of this world? None. If you are connected to the world, then you will pass away along with the world. That is John’s point. You get to be dragged down by the world because you are attached to it.
In the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks’ character was in a plane that crashed into the ocean, and the plane started to sink. So, Tom’s character grabbed a life preserver and opened it up, but there was a problem. A rope that was attached to the raft was caught on the plane that was sinking. This man was being dragged down with the plane. Finally, the rope became unstuck, and Tom’s character was able to reach the surface.
That scene illustrates the point that John was trying to get across. If we stay attached to the world, we will sink with it. We will be dragged down, we will pass away along with the world. However, there is an alternative of which John spoke. The world is literally going to hell, but there is hope. John said the person doing God’s will abides forever.
There are two choices, two roads—the broad road or the narrow, the way of Christ or the way of this corrupt system. If you want to live forever, if you want eternal life, the choice is to attach yourself to God through Christ. What is the will of God? “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us” (1 John 3:23).
The will of God is to put our faith in Jesus and to love as He loved. Don’t love the world, don’t put your hope, trust and faith in money or in power, in popularity or in good looks, in fine clothing or in cars. None of that is eternal, none of that lasts. The only place to find everlasting hope and joy is in the eternal Son, the one who took on flesh and beat death. This is the path to eternal life, following God and obeying His commands. If you stay attached to Jesus, you will abide, you will find eternal life.
