Loving The World

"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." (1 John 2:15) As time goes on, I am seeing that Christians are becoming more in love with the things of the world. The Apostle Paul encourages us to "Abhor what is evil, and cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9) To the Christians at Thessalonica he says: "Test all things, hold fast to what is good, abstain from every form of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:21) To me, this means we are not to flirt with the things of the world. A little alcohol is alright as long as you consume just a little. A little pornography is alright as long as you don't go too far with it. Lying and cheating is alright as long as you don't get caught. On and on we make excuses, until we are way over the line, and we have not only hurt ourselves, but we have hurt others as well. If anyone loves the the world, he/she does not have a love for the Heavenly Father. God wants us to love Him totally and sincerely. The worldly things that are mentioned in His Word, are to be avoided 100% at all costs. Some would ask:" How can you be happy if you don't dabble, or experiment, or enjoy a portion of what the world has to offer? Anything that in time can gradually take the place of God in our lives, and gradually ruin our lives, is totally off limits. A choice must be made in the beginning of our relationship with God. A choice to be totally obedient to His will for us. He knows as a loving Father knows what is best for His children, and wants only the best for us. That is such a comfort to know. By being faithful to Him and His Word, we will have the protection from the destruction of the world. (GP)