“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
The more of this world that we experience, the more difficult it becomes to find pleasure in it. The man who enjoys climbing mountains rarely climbs the same one twice in the same way, repetition does not normally bring excitement. The very rich in wealth understand these truths fully, it becomes more and more difficult to experience excitement of possessions and adventure, much like the one addicted to pornography who will not stare at the same images but needs even greater depravity to feed his or her ever growing lust.
The idea that fulfillment can be found in this world can be attested to as false only by those who have been blessed with the knowledge that there is more after this life, the Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven, spoke to us in His Word about what that place is like, and then returned to it. By faith we believe Him and so we stop searching for joy here and begin to seek first the Kingdom of God, yet sadly not with our whole heart.
It is not so much that we desire those things of the world as we did, before we were saved, or that we have truly learned to be content in whatever state that we are in, or even that our faith may be weak at times, but that we have yet to be fully transformed by the renewing of our minds.
When the world calls, we do not have to heed that call.
Those are the traps, the wiles of the devil, he cannot force us into temptations, and he does not need to, the world and all it has to offer, or the transformation of our minds, the choice is ours. As Satan cannot force upon us temptations, the Almighty does not force virtue upon us, we either accept the path of denial of the flesh or reject it.
The road my friends is very rocky and covered with pitfalls and traps. Trying to be a good Christian never works, submitting to the will of the Father is the only sure path, and the only way to submit is in love for His glory. “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.” (2nd Sam. 12:14)
How many times have you fallen into, or rather willingly jumped into temptation and the unsaved around you have known about it? Who do you think they made sport of, you or God? Whose name do you think they drug through the mud, yours or the Lord Jesus Christ? “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38) We do not, and when we do not, we not only lose our credibility, our witness towards the lost, but we give them an occasion to blaspheme the name of God.
That’s all you need to do, keep living for the world, keep seeking the things of it, continue your search for the next exciting adventure or enticement of the flesh and the world will be yours, but you will never set foot on the new earth, or see the new heavens to come. “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
And tomorrow and the day after.
The world or the Kingdom of God my friends, you cannot have both.
