Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves 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 boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

                                                                                                               1 John 2:15-17 

“Do not love the world” is a straightforward charge given to us as believers. For us to correctly understand what John is saying, we must identify what he isn’t saying.

First, John is not instructing us to reject the world as understood through creation. God created this world. He could have done this anyway that He pleased, but He chose to create this world and place mankind in it. The mountains, forests, rivers, and streams are all places where we can quiet our minds and escape the hustle and bustle of life. These times of retreat into God’s creation give us an opportunity to pray and study God’s Word, bringing restoration and rest for our souls. When John says, “Do not love the world”, he is not referring to creation.

Secondly, John is not referring to the people in the world. God is love and He loves the world (1 John 4:8, John 3:16). As believers, we are instructed to love our neighbor (Matthew 7:12). Love for family, friends, and even fellow believers should be a part of our lives. But real Christian love extends well beyond our comfort zone. We are even called to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us. We are to bless and pray for those who mistreat us (Luke 6:27-28). When John says, “Do not love the world”, he is not referring to the people in the world either.

“Do not love the world” is an instruction designed to protect us from the corruption that comes from living according to the world’s system and philosophies. The world, apart from Christ, is opposed to God and the things of God. There is a chasm between those who walk according to the Light of Christ and those who remain in darkness. Believers and unbelievers cannot spiritually have anything in common. So when we claim to be in a saving relationship with Jesus, we are also announcing our rejection of the world and its ways (2 Corinthians 5:17). Let’s consider four biblical truths dealing with this disconnection from the world on the part of born again believers in Jesus.

1. Friendship with the world makes us enemies of God. 

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 

                                                                                                                   James 4:4 

We are created in the image of God. God loves the world and has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). It is those who reject the gospel and the saving power of the cross that are considered enemies of God. Why? It is because rejecting the gospel is to embrace the world and its philosophies (John 3:19). God is a relational God and desires for us to come to know Him and to experience abundant life (1 Timothy 2:4) however, we have the choice to reject His love and to embrace the world. James is reminding us that friendship with the world makes us enemies of God.

2. The world is opposed to the gospel.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.                                                                                                        

                                                                                                         2 Corinthians 4:3-4 

We have a spiritual enemy and he seeks to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). Paul reminds us that he seeks to keep the gospel veiled so that people will not hear, believe, and become saved. He blinds the minds of the unbelieving world, keeping them in darkness lest they respond to the gospel and obtain spiritual life. When we “love the world”, we are embracing philosophies that are directly opposed to the good news. In essence, we are siding with the enemy when we choose to embrace the world. It is entirely absurd to suggest that we can believe the gospel yet be opposed to it at the same time. Believers are to live in such a way as to promote the wonderful news that is the gospel.

3. God’s ways are contradictory to the world’s philosophy.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 

                                                                                                                   Luke 9:24-25 

It must sound foolish to the unbelieving world. Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” When we live for this world, with all of its trappings and pleasures, we are seeking to “save our lives.” This is a lifestyle of living for ourselves and doing the things that we want to do without any regard for the things of God or His purpose for our lives. It is the most selfish existence that one can have. But when we are saved everything changes. We give up living for the temporal and are now focused on the eternal. This is what it means to “lose our lives for the sake of Christ.” Ironically, when we surrender all to Jesus, we inherit the riches of His kingdom and are abundantly supplied with everything that we need in this life and in the next (Romans 10:12, 2 Corinthians 9:8).

4. We have to make a choice.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

                                                                                                            Matthew 6:24,33 

Jesus reminds us that we must make a choice. It is impossible for us to serve God and the accumulation of wealth at the same time (although many have tried). At some point, one will become the treasure and the other will be tossed aside. Tragically for many, the choice to store up material possessions will be the priority and the things of God will disappear from the minds and hearts of these individuals. They will trade eternity for things that they cannot keep.

So how are we doing? Are we enjoying the world that God has created and loving the people in it yet rejecting the ways and philosophies of the world system? As the culture seems to drift farther and farther away from the Creator and the love that comes from knowing Him, it is all the more imperative that believers accurately demonstrate what it means to have a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And part of that is making sure that others around us can see that we are living by a different standard. May we be a people who are known for rejecting the world in order to embrace the God who loves us so!