Do Not Love the World
ICS Daily Devotions

1 John 2:15-16 (NKJV) Do not love the world or 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, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

It is impossible to live a consecrated life if we love the world and succumb to the lust of the flesh and the eyes. We will be proud and full of ourselves if we think everything we have comes from our achievements. If we love the pleasures of the world, we will find it difficult to live a consecrated and sanctified life. Even though we are in God’s kingdom as children of God, our hearts are still very much in the world.

Sodom was a corrupt and godless city, any association with which was bound to lead to a compromised faith. When we choose to live like the world and trust in it rather than in God, we will pierce ourselves with many sorrows, compromising with its values and principles. It never leads to a good end (1 Timothy 6:10).

When Abraham and Lot had to part ways, Abraham gave Lot the priority to choose and Lot chose the plain of Sodom which was well-watered. Abraham took a different direction, but God was with him and told him that He would make him prosper (Genesis 13:5-17). What we learnt from Abraham is that if it is God who calls, He will bless the work of our hands and our relationship with Him will be intact.

Lot became an inhabitant of Sodom and compromised with the sinful people of Sodom. He relied on himself and became a slave to the world. Eventually, when a war broke out in Sodom, all that Lot had enjoyed and trusted in crumpled before him and he was taken captive. The love of money will cause us to be a slave to the world.

Abraham took his 318 men to save Lot and defeated a vast army. They rescued Lot, his family, and recovered everything that they had lost because God was with Abraham. Abraham gave 10% of the spoils to Melchizedek who is a type of Christ.

There lurks a danger for Christians who choose to trust in the world with visible benefits. The sign of a stronghold over trusting money is when one struggles to tithe to God. We live in the world, but we must not operate in the ways of the world and trust our jobs or businesses more than God. Very often, we will only realise whom we should truly trust when we have lost our jobs or business. Do not love the world, love God!

Sermon Series: A Steady Walk of Faith with God