2. What must the attitude of the Christian be towards the world? Having established what worldliness is it can be no surprise to us what John says our attitude should be to it if we are Christians. To drive home his point he puts things in terms both of what we must not do and in terms of what will happen if we do.
A. What must we not do? The instruction itself is very straightforward and could not be put more simply. Do not love the world or anything in the world. By putting it in this form he allows for no temporising or compromise. The worldling loves to live for what will satisfy his earthly desires. He lives for what will satisfy his eyes and give him a sense of well being about himself. He loves such things. The believer is not to love this attitude or the things hat promote this attitude. This doesn't mean that he can't enjoy his food or listen to music for pleasure, that he can't enjoy watching a TV programme or seeing a pretty girl, that he can't be proud of where he comes from or celebrate when his favourite team wins at soccer or rugby. However, in comparison with his love for the Lord and for the kingdom of God it is as if he hates these things and has no love for them at all. Remember Jacob and how he loved Rachel. But when he got married after serving 7 years he was given Leah. Rachel had to be his second wife. And we are told that he hated Leah but loved Rachel. Now it wasn't that he hated Leah in the normal sense but that his love for Rachel was so great that it was as if he hated Leah in comparison. That sort of difference has to be in the life of the Christian with regard to Christ and the world. Do you love the world? Do you love the things that the world has to offer and that the world holds dear? We would be lying if we said they held no attraction for us. But we must not love them – don’t cherish those desires or those attitudes. Don’t pamper them and encourage them. Let them die.
B. What will happen if we do that? If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. These are two incompatibles says John. If you love the world, you can't have the love of the Father – you can neither love him nor will he love you, both are true, whichever John has most in mind. Many of you have mobile phones and you probably know that what makes them tick is the SIM card inside. You can take a simcard from one phone and put it in another. What you can't do on most phones (at least in the UK) is to put 2 simcards in one phone – even if they
would both go in you couldn't have them both working. Now John says it's like that – it's one or the other, worldliness or God. You can't do both. What makes you tick? What do you live for and love? If it's food or sex or wine or football or your home or family how can you say you love the Father? What drives you? If it is simply seeing the next film, hearing the next single, watching the next game, going on the next trip, you don’t really know what the love of God is all about. What is your ambition? To promote yourself in some way? To cheer yourself up or be pleased with how things have gone? That's worldliness, it is not love to God the Father.
A. What must we not do? The instruction itself is very straightforward and could not be put more simply. Do not love the world or anything in the world. By putting it in this form he allows for no temporising or compromise. The worldling loves to live for what will satisfy his earthly desires. He lives for what will satisfy his eyes and give him a sense of well being about himself. He loves such things. The believer is not to love this attitude or the things hat promote this attitude. This doesn't mean that he can't enjoy his food or listen to music for pleasure, that he can't enjoy watching a TV programme or seeing a pretty girl, that he can't be proud of where he comes from or celebrate when his favourite team wins at soccer or rugby. However, in comparison with his love for the Lord and for the kingdom of God it is as if he hates these things and has no love for them at all. Remember Jacob and how he loved Rachel. But when he got married after serving 7 years he was given Leah. Rachel had to be his second wife. And we are told that he hated Leah but loved Rachel. Now it wasn't that he hated Leah in the normal sense but that his love for Rachel was so great that it was as if he hated Leah in comparison. That sort of difference has to be in the life of the Christian with regard to Christ and the world. Do you love the world? Do you love the things that the world has to offer and that the world holds dear? We would be lying if we said they held no attraction for us. But we must not love them – don’t cherish those desires or those attitudes. Don’t pamper them and encourage them. Let them die.
B. What will happen if we do that? If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. These are two incompatibles says John. If you love the world, you can't have the love of the Father – you can neither love him nor will he love you, both are true, whichever John has most in mind. Many of you have mobile phones and you probably know that what makes them tick is the SIM card inside. You can take a simcard from one phone and put it in another. What you can't do on most phones (at least in the UK) is to put 2 simcards in one phone – even if they
would both go in you couldn't have them both working. Now John says it's like that – it's one or the other, worldliness or God. You can't do both. What makes you tick? What do you live for and love? If it's food or sex or wine or football or your home or family how can you say you love the Father? What drives you? If it is simply seeing the next film, hearing the next single, watching the next game, going on the next trip, you don’t really know what the love of God is all about. What is your ambition? To promote yourself in some way? To cheer yourself up or be pleased with how things have gone? That's worldliness, it is not love to God the Father.
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