“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.” ~ I John 2:15
“Worldliness…is a love for this fallen world. It’s loving the values and pursuits of the world that stand opposed to God. More specifically, it is to gratify and exalt oneself to the exclusion of God. It rejects God’s rule and replaces it with our own.” ~ C.J. Mahaney
I have a confession to make; I struggle with worldliness. For those who know me well this is probably not an “a-ha” moment. But if that was your first reaction maybe like me you need to spend some time reflecting on what the Bible says about worldliness and devote some time on prayerful introspection. Does how you and I define worldliness match up with God’s definition; and more importantly are we so focused on pointing it out in others that we miss it in our own lives?
Calling someone we know or associate with "worldly" is probably one of the most disparaging things we can think to say about a fellow believer. I have often felt that within conservative evangelical and fundamentalist Christian circles we have had a far too narrow definition of “worldliness”. In some cases we define worldliness as any personal preference that someone has that doesn’t match up to how we view Christianity should be lived out. It could be in an individual’s style of dress, choice of entertainment and music. Without a doubt these things can serve as an early warning to an inward drift, but they do not always equate to whether or not we are “right with God.”
All Christians would do well to study the various passages in the Bible dealing with worldliness like I John 2:15-17. It was through these verses and others in I John that I came to the realization that I was not a Christian. I have just started reading C.J.Mahaney’s book “Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World” and he warns that we all have a wrong view of externals. He states; “Some people try to define worldliness as living outside a specific set of rules or conservative standards. If you listen to music with a certain beat, dress in fashionable clothes, watch movies with a certain rating, or indulge in certain luxuries of modern society, surely you must be worldly. Others, irritated and repulsed by rules that seem arbitrary, react to definitions of worldliness, assuming it’s impossible to define. Or they think legalism will inevitably the result, so we shouldn’t even try. Ready for a surprise? Both views are wrong. For by focusing exclusively on externals or dismissing the importance of externals, we’ve missed the point.”
Mahaney focuses on the passage in I John 2:15 and the verses that follow and points out that the Apostle John tells us that worldliness exists in our hearts and the real location or encampment of worldly actions and attitudes is buried deep within the heart of every man. We lull ourselves into a false sense of security thinking that if we look right on the outside, have the right associations and deny ourselves through an almost monastic lifestyle that we are avoiding worldliness. But we forget that even by doing this we all fall well short of the six things God hates in Proverbs 6:16-19.
Who among us can honestly state that we are never prideful and never look down on or disdain others? Are we always truthful? And even if we do not tell boldfaced lies do we have a cruel disposition and conduct character assassination on others by saying negative or untruthful embellishments about them. Do we devise wicked plans; i.e. let the wheels turn in our mind on how we can scheme, plot or plan how to manipulate people to get our way, or do things we know deep within our hearts are rebellious against God and spelled out as sin in God’s Word? And do we spread strife, cause trouble or are we at times outright divisive? A simplistic definition of worldliness is anything and everything that is man-centered thinking that is diametrically opposed and hostile to God and His Word. By God’s definition we all are prone to worldliness and exhibit these tendencies every waking moment of our earthly existence. No one is immune.
I think at times that we forget that rebellion and sin is seeking satisfaction and contentment in anything and everything other than God. For a believer worldliness can be exhibited in seeking the praise of men or taking praise for good things whose source is God. It can be making an idol of a ministry, education, our jobs, our associations, our families, our preferences and our own wisdom. If we deny that we have seeds of worldliness within our own hearts and are more focused on rooting it out of others we do the cause of Christ a great disservice.
In II Timothy 2:10 Paul laments that he has been forsaken or deserted by his co-laborer Demas because he loved this world. Demas left Paul because living out the Gospel became inconvenient and too difficult. Paul doesn’t say that Demas left because he was seeking fortune or entertainment, but because the path grew too much for him to bear. The worldliness that Demas displayed was that he was unwilling to undergo hardship for the cause of Christ and be associated with the cost of Gospel. He was apparently more concerned about using his time and energy to insure his own safety and personal well-being rather than following the example set by Christ, (see Philippians 2:5-9) We are worldly when we refuse to stay true to the Gospel and suffer the consequences of sharing it with others. Any time we seek to fulfill our agenda or equate our wisdom on a par with God we are being worldly.
Mahaney asks these questions; “What dominates your mind and stirs your heart? Is it discontentment with your life? Longing for earthly pleasures? Does outward prosperity appeal to you more than growth in godliness? Or is your prayer life characterized by heartfelt supplications for God’s will to be done and His kingdom come? Do you relate to God as if He exists to further your selfish ambitions or are you convinced that you exist to glorify Him?”
When speaking on I John 2:15-17 John MacArthur states that according to Philippians 3:20 that our citizenship is in heaven and not of this world. We are not of this world. But he says; "This does not mean that you don't get tempted some times by things in the world, material things, lustful things. It doesn't meant that you're not allured by your own pride and self-interest. That's why the command is here. "Do not love the world." While it is true that we have literally died to the world, it is also true that we can find it still alluring and find ourselves being tempted to draw back into it." All this to say that we are kidding ourselves if we say we are not influenced in some way by the world. We would do well to redouble our efforts to root it out of our own lives before we are so quick to slap a label of worldliness on those around us.
I am worldly because I know within my own heart that every motive, action, thought or attitude is not always aligned with God's Word. Paul talks about this inner struggle that we all face in Romans 7 and he acknowledged that nothing good resided in him, and that he was constantly at war with himself to live out the Gospel. He knew he was a wretched man and that the only solution to this battle was the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not leave us comfortless and without a source of peace. I thank God for His Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit to show me the depth of my own need and a means of resisting the seduction of this fallen world.
“Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon
"It is not the inconsistent person who is a hypocrite, it is only the one who thinks his religious life makes him better than anyone else. Hypocrisy trades humility for spiritual arrogance." -- William L. Coleman
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