Waking Thoughts: Love Not the World

/

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 1 John 2:15 NLT

1b9fafd2d761596736efb0a295a5098b.jpg

I just returned from a place that was “over the top perfect” in almost every way imaginable — beautiful buildings, manicured landscaping, voluminous activities — potentially every need and want met right there.

But in the midst of the visit, the waking thought … “Love not the world!”

As one friend said, “It sounds like Vanity Fair.” You know, the town in Paul Bunyan’s classic Pilgrim’s Progress, that contained every worldly pleasure to suck poor Pilgrim in.

Well, I’ve been reflecting. Even though this place was “to the hilt” worldly perfect in so many ways, I can’t help but think that we each have a “Vanity Fair” all around us no matter where we are. Our Vanity Fair beckons us to chose the world of ___(FILL IN THE BLANK)_____ rather than God.

I wonder what yours is.

In the past, mine has been Religion. The world of religion calls us to perform the “to do list” or the “to don’t list” in order to be right with God, to please Him, to get Him to love us more or use us more or to be looked upon as spiritual and mature or to be an influence.

But God has said and still does, “Love not the world…even the world of religion,” because God’s kingdom is about … "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

No matter where we are on God’s earth…even in the midst of Vanity Fair. Amen.

Food for thought, huh?

Don’t fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don’t have the Father’s love living within them. All the things the world can offer to you—the allure of pleasure, the passion to have things, and the pompous sense of superiority—do not come from the Father. These are the rotten fruits of this world. This corrupt world is already wasting away, as are its selfish desires. But the person really doing God’s will—that person will never cease to be.
1 John 2:15-17 VOICE