Love Not the World

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” I John 2:15-17

The word world has a wide range of meanings. In one context, it can mean the earth, while in another it can mean the general public. The word is used a number of different ways throughout scripture, and most of the time we must depend on the context to help us determine its meaning. Because Christians are commanded not to love the world, it is easy to get the idea that the world in the passage above is something external. But John defines the term here so that we can understand his intended meaning. He says that the world consists of “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” All three of these are internally generated responses to our surroundings. Therefore, we need to concentrate our efforts on our response to the things of the world rather than upon the world itself. Pride and fleshly desires reside within every person. The people who give themselves over to these desires and attitudes constitute the world, but they themselves are not the enemy of the Christian. Our enemy lies within us. It is our own pride and sinful desires. These earthly things will pass away, but God wants us to love Him and love others so that our lives will bring honor to Him.