Week 1 – Thursday
Read – 1 John 2:12–17
SOAP – 1 John 2:15–16
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, because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Charles Spurgeon said, “you can’t send your heart at the same time in two opposite ways.” The world’s philosophies and its world views are in direct opposition to that of God’s; they cannot be reconciled. We must decide who we are going to follow. Will it be the Lord, whose kingdom lasts forever, or the world, which will one day be destroyed.
For the moment, we live here in this world. We are called to use discernment and wisdom when navigating the things the world offers. Not all things in the world are bad. James tells us that every good gift is from God, and so we can enjoy many good things (Jms 1:17). We should never love anything more than we love God. We must hold tight to our God and all that belongs to Him while loosely holding everything that is of this world.
Lord, it is not easy to live in the world and not be influenced by the ways of the world. Give me wisdom to know what is good and what is not, and give me a love for You that surpasses all things. Amen.