I read an article recently about the "world" creeping into the church. The author made some good points, but I'm just a regular person, not a pastor, and my main concern is myself.
Am I worldly? How do I let the philosophies--the dominant ideas and practices--of this ungodly world influence me?
To begin with, I considered: how does the Bible define worldliness? I found the answer in the book of 1st John:
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. 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. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. I Jn 2:15-17
Reading these verses I can see that John is not talking about this physical world per se. There was a heresy back then which said that the spirit is good but physical things are bad, and I suppose it's possible to fall into that trap even today. But clearly, John is talking about something unseen.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life--this is what worldliness is to the Apostle. By the way, the Greek word translated "lust" simply means to long for. It is used in a good sense in I Tim 3:1 about "desiring" the office of a bishop (elder). It encompasses a lot of things.
What is my heart drawn after? What is my time consumed with? My thoughts? I am beginning to see that outward performance is not the best test of "worldliness." It is actually a matter of the heart--and I find myself guilty as charged.
Even innocent things--good things--can claim the throne of my heart and push out the love of the Father. This is my new litmus test: do I love the Father? Is my love to God and my neighbor flourishing or receding?
When I think of an activity or choice, I ask, "Will this come between me and my God?" Sometimes I can say, "Yes, this is okay, but not too much!" The human heart will fall in love with anything.
Another scriptural test of our hearts is our speech. What do we talk about? Is it easy or difficult to speak about Christ and His redemption? What do we write about or post on Facebook?
. . . out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Matt 12:34
Meditating on all these things, I found encouragement in John 17:16:
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
This is amazing. Here Jesus is praying for his disciples. He states that they are already--actually and legally--not of this world. From this basis he argues for their sanctification through the Word. I can take encouragement that my Advocate has given me legal standing to live apart from the world.
I'm not of this world. Therefore I should--and can-- live accordingly.
