1 John 2:15-17
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
So, there are three enemies to GOD which are: Lust of the flesh, Lust of the eye, and the Pride of life. The lust of the flesh includes the lust for other people, food, drink, drugs, money, etc. Lust of the eye is wanting something based on its beauty. Pride of life is when you are proud of your beauty, strength, intelligence, wealth, possessions, or even lack of possessions (proud of being poor). You can even be proud of being a healthy eater. Not that healthy eating is bad. But, the way we perceive something. If we walk around being proud of eating healthy, then we are exercising the lust of pride. We should not view the things or ideas of this world as if we possess them. Rather, we should instead only view everything we have or use as a necessity. If it is not a necessity, then we are already using lust. We must strive to crucify these shortcomings. But we cannot do this unless we are honest with ourselves and our desires.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Pleasures Of The World
Don't make the mistake of assuming you are supposed to love everyone by
socializing with them, thinking that Jesus
visited sinners and synagogues, and so should you. You are incapable of
showing the love of God to anyone until you have been purified
and the
love of God has been close to perfected in you. Everything
Jesus said and did was exactly as he was ordered to by the Father, and when
you are clearly under the control of the Spirit of God's promptings and orders,
you too will be sent to worldly people, (including religious worldly people),
with clear instructions; but until then, you should withdraw from social contact
with the world as much as possible. Friendship with the world
is enmity with God; be polite, but don't join in conversations and
activities of the world. This doesn't mean that you won't be kind and courteous
to those of the world with which your occupation brings you into association;
just that you will not socialize with them, because it would be painful and
harmful to you. Do not be
deceived. Evil companions corrupt good manners, morals, and integrity. 1 Cor 15:33.
Aside from false gospels, universal in churches today, the pleasures of this life are the greatest hurdles to be understood and overcome. Most pleasures are not inherently evil; their problem is the time passed in their pursuit. As our society's prosperity has increased, varieties of pleasures have proliferated. Just consider all the different varieties of sports shoes available for purchase today, up to one hundred; fifty years ago there were only four or five. It is very difficult for us, immersed in them since childhood, to understand how the pleasures of the world can be harmful to us. It is difficult to see how our pleasures actually enslave us to them, committing our mind, time, and energy to their pursuit. The pursuit of pleasures is love of the world, which competes with love for God; as such, our pleasures and passions are our false idols. For the love of the world, the things of the world, and the pleasures of the world are enmity with God. As it is written:
Aside from false gospels, universal in churches today, the pleasures of this life are the greatest hurdles to be understood and overcome. Most pleasures are not inherently evil; their problem is the time passed in their pursuit. As our society's prosperity has increased, varieties of pleasures have proliferated. Just consider all the different varieties of sports shoes available for purchase today, up to one hundred; fifty years ago there were only four or five. It is very difficult for us, immersed in them since childhood, to understand how the pleasures of the world can be harmful to us. It is difficult to see how our pleasures actually enslave us to them, committing our mind, time, and energy to their pursuit. The pursuit of pleasures is love of the world, which competes with love for God; as such, our pleasures and passions are our false idols. For the love of the world, the things of the world, and the pleasures of the world are enmity with God. As it is written:
Do not love the world or the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15
You [spiritual] adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that the fellowship the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world is the enemy of God [and has committed adultery with the world]. James 4:4
Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh [the sinful nature] with its passions and desires [lusts and affections]. Gal 5:24
So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him. Rom 8:8
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