1 John 2:15  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.

Someone recently asked me, “If God created the world for us to enjoy, why does the Bible tell us not to love the world?” (1 John 2:15)

In Hebrew (the Old Testament) the word for world is tebel, which means moist and therefore inhabited. In Greek (the New Testament) the word for world is kosmos which means an ordered system (like universe, creation); also refers to the inhabitants of the world and to worldly affairs.

So the ‘world’ includes both the physical planet as well as those who live on it.

That leads to another question. How can God love the world (John 3:16) and yet James tell us that friendship with the world makes us an enemy of God (James 4:4)?

Many people stop when they read Scriptures like these, shake their heads in confusion, and go find something easier to understand, sometimes telling others how illogical or contradictory the Bible is.

However, the key to understanding what is meant by ‘world’ is often found in the surrounding verses. Take the verse in the opening paragraph above about not loving the world or the things of the world. The next verse in the Bible defines what John’s talking about: “For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16)

Paul said in Col 2:20-23  If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations – “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used) – according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Jesus Himself told a parable about the dangers of the world in Mark 4:1-20, especially verses 18-19: And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

Based on just these few Scriptures, we can see that the word ‘world’ in these contexts mean the desires of the flesh and of the eyes, pride of life, riches, money, possessions, property, cares, human precepts and teachings, and self-made religion.

In other words – sensuality, materialism, consumerism, humanism, naturalism, and religion.

In short, anything that supersedes God.

God’s first and most important commandment has been clear. He and His kingdom are to be first in our lives. Compromise is not an option. We either live by His words, His standard, His commands, His ways – or we don’t. It’s either-or. It’s a two way street. One way leads to life with Him, the other way leads to death without Him. He’s quite serious about it.

Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

James 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:24:  No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money, or mammon. (In Greek, mammon is a Semitic word for money or possessions) (In Strong’s Concordance (number 3126)  Mammon in Aramaic means riches, money, possessions, property.)

Jesus said we are in the world, not of the world (John 17:14-16). That means we are living in the world with everyone else, but we are not bound by the principles of the world. In His prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:15-18)

He has told us to go into the world to make disciples of all who will listen (Mark 16:15). He will assign us fields to work, whether they are in politics, in churches, in education, in industries, or in groups with causes. Wherever He puts us, remember the focus is on God’s kingdom. We must remain true to God’s way such as loving without conforming to those around us. We are to be His light, sharing God’s truth, not befriending their opinions and beliefs. We are there to share the gospel, not become one of them.

We can enjoy what God created and what He gives us, but always with the knowledge that they are not an end but a means to be used to reach others for Christ and to minister to those in need, whether those needs are emotional, physical, financial, etc.

Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to show us where we’ve compromised, where we’ve adopted the mindset and behavior of the world. Let’s acknowledge and repent from where we’ve strayed into the world’s ways, and return to His way before it’s too late.

He’s not of the world. Are we?