Question
“Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world.” I John 2:15. I have read this, but I live in this world. How can I do this?
Answer
Thank you for this question. That is a big problem not only for you, but for all of us. We do live here in this world, and we are in constant contact with the things of this world.
Many of the commodities of this world are necessary for our existence, and besides that, Satan is constantly alluring us to the things that would keep us from giving our attention to Christ. He hates Christ and has for six thousand years been studying how to defeat God in the plan of redemption. No human being is a match for Satan, and it is useless for us to try to devise a plan where we can defeat him. We must depend upon God for help.
Satan is trying to win our attention through the temptations of things that appeal and please the body. Therefore, he tries to control our mind through the desires of the body. In other words, sensual pleasures are given priority over intelligent choices. We learn to love the things of this world because they are temporarily pleasing to the eye, to the taste, to the feelings, and to the body in general. In this way he controls our mind through satisfying our body desires. Christ teaches us that our mind should be in control of our body, which is a totally different concept than that of Satan.
How to accomplish this is the problem. Remember, all of God’s biddings are our enablings, so let us see what the Bible has to say.
The first text that comes to mind is, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5. In order to have the mind of Jesus we must study His life. Another suggestion is: “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.” The Desire of Ages, 83.
It is easy to float down the stream and end up in the ocean, but to swim up-stream and end up in the country takes effort. So it is with the Christian life; it takes thought and effort.
No one lives in a vacuum; everyone loves something because this is the way we were created. Either we are going to love the world and the things that are in the world, or we will learn to love God.
The Lord is the giver of every perfect gift, and it is not wrong to love the gifts He has given us as long as our love for the Giver is more than our love for the gift.
In heaven the Lord is going to give us far more than anything we have in this world, but first we must learn to love Him supremely before He can trust us with the gifts.
Man was created for joy and happiness, and Jesus promised that those who are faithful would have the privilege of entering into the joy of the Lord, for He said to the faithful servant, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matthew 25:23.