Letters from the Beloved – Who You Love
The world will tell you “Love is Love”, but John, the beloved, warns us about what you love.
1 John 2:15-17 [NLT] 15 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. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
Loving this world and the things it offers is a “no go” for Christians. Loving the things of this world in not true love. First, let’s acknowledge that John is not contradicting Jesus, the other apostles, or himself. We are told to love the PEOPLE of this world (including enemies). John is telling us not to love what the world offers. Why?
1. It results in only wanting more – more pleasure, more things. The love of the world is not a love that is ever content or complete. It will have us always wanting and striving for more.
God tells us to learn to be content with the blessings we have in life. 1 Timothy 6:8 [NLT] 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. [See also Philippians 4:11 and Luke 3;14 for further examples.]
Proverbs 27:20 [NLT] 20 Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied. If we are led by human desires, we will not learn to be satisfied with or to focus on appreciating what we do have.
2. It results in pride at what we do, have or achieve.
Proud and pride show up 98 times in the Bible. A quick scan showed me that none of them speak of pride or being proud as a good thing for us.
Proverbs 11:2 [NKJV] 2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble [is] wisdom. Mark 7:21-23, Jesus lists pride as one of the things that come out of man and defile a man. [See also Proverbs 16:5; 2 Timothy 3:2 and Romans 1:30 for just a few examples.]
When we focus on pride in what we have, get, can do or achieve, we miss out on the peace that appreciation for God’s blessings offers us. We lose all the good that comes from understanding that life’s blessings are for sharing. We can lose out on grace.
James 4:6 [NKJV] 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
3. All these things the world offers do not last.
Matthew 6:19-20 [NKJV] 19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
If you have a retirement plan/401K that is dependent on the Stock Market, you have likely experienced how things you work hard for and do your best with get destroyed by decisions you had no part in making. We have all seen natural disasters wipe out a home and all its contents. Maybe you or a loved one have experienced that.
But, of course, the greatest loss is after we die. Then all we have acquired goes to our heirs or the government or the next in line at work or into decay. We cannot take any of our money, success, power, or possessions into the Kingdom.
Matthew 6:20 [NKJV] "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Sweet sisters, we must love those in the world, even our enemies. We can love things about this world, like sunsets and the taste of a vanilla latte and art created by talented people. However, when we love things and power, success and glory, we find that this love has no positive benefits for us, as it results only in wanting more, human pride, and eventual loss of all that we acquired.
Thank you, beloved John, for this important message.
I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me in the comments section or at Nancy@DyanmicChristianMinistries.org