Anchored in Adverse Affections
“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.” 1 John 2:15 (KJV)
When our first parents (Adam and Eve) activated treason against our benevolent Creator, the consequence was the corruption of two divinely-given domains that direct the disposition of humanity. First, our conscience, which gives us the ability to process and conceptualize and two, our affections, which consist of the things that mean a lot to us and the people we cherish and love.
Because of the fall of man our conscience and affections became adulterated which in turn advanced a world that is abounding with principles that promote hardships and ruin. As a result, these deceptive principals promote dissension, removing harmony with our Creator and with our fellow man. In addition, the principles that are consistent with a fallen world are representative of the rebellious spirit of Satan. They include pride, jealousy, rage, prejudice, selfishness, non-benevolence, deceit, greed, covetousness, gluttony, violence and immorality. This list is not exhaustive but you get the picture. Worldly principles promotes a world absent of peace but plenteous in pain.
Our affections also point us to those things that we prioritize and to which we devote our lives. Consequently, too often our hearts are captivated with the concerns of the world and its circle of earthly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow, frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce us from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ.
Oftentimes the world will manifest itself as a malignant magnet that will even pull purported people of God away from the purpose of God in their lives.
In the word of God we read about a heartbroken Apostle Paul that lost a fellow worker of ministry due to his love for the world.
“For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” 2 Timothy 4:10 (KJV)
The Scriptures admonishes us not to adore the world or entertain and embrace its advances. Inordinate affection of the world is indicative of a heart that has abandoned his or her Creator. They have also alienated themselves from His perfect and good will for their lives. Consider and capture the truth taught in this passage of Scripture:
“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 for ever.” 1 John 2:16-17 (KJV)
In the aforementioned passage we see three prominent positions promoted by the world. First, the lust of the flesh is a fixation of feeding the flames of polluted passions. For clarity, passion for lovers under the design of God in a marital relationship is pure and precious. The Scriptures liberate lovers to love lavishly. Passion or lust outside divinely-drawn lines are licentious and lock lawless lovers in degradation and divine judgment.
“Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” Hebrews 13:4 (KJV)
Second, the lust of the eyes is the consistency of a conscience cemented in covetousness. It is a heart that has abandoned itself to amassing material possessions or in many cases desiring people or things that don't belong to you.
“Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any [thing] that [is] thy neighbor's.” Deuteronomy 5:21 (KJV)
Third, the pride of life is a purposeful and profound preoccupation with power, status and position of privilege.
From the origin of our existence, we witness the world offering a suggestive and attractive proposition of power, position, passion and privilege to our original parents in the Garden of Eden. Paradise was lost by lust. Eve purged herself from the preoccupation of reverence, loyalty and wonder for God. As a result she was vulnerable to seduction. Eve yielded to her interest and yoked all mankind to ruin. As a result her actions demanded a Redeemer.
Eve was deceived by a duplicitous promise of plans, prospects, pleasure and purposes independent of God. Sounds familiar? It's the same old rap, the same old rascal and the same old result: rebellion and the rupture of our relation with God (Genesis 3:1-6).
Question: Who and what has your heart? Is your heart cemented in Christ or captured in carnality? There is a popular Capital One commercial that closes with a question: “What’s in your wallet?” I ask you Christian, “What has your heart?”
For the Glory of God,
PBKSR