What do you believe worldliness is, do you think that it is only giving concerns to the things of the world, the materialistic, those things that we can experience with one of our five senses? Rocks, trees, mountains, seas and sky, are the elements of creation the items of worldliness, if so we must count in all the animals of God’s creation, include also here the known universe and everything that we know about it, is that worldliness?
If not, or if so but only in part, are we to include all of humanity, is it more worldly to love your neighbor (Lev. 19:9) or to hate those that hate His name, (Psalm 139:21) can you be worldly and both like some people and dislike others. What about the things that man has created, is it worldly to enjoy movies, music, plays, how about the internet, cell phones or even your vehicle or house, is it worldly to enjoy those things. Each of these items listed can be used for good or evil, are we worldly if we use them only for good, saying in effect that those who only use them for their own selfish purposes and not for the glory of God are more worldly than we ourselves are? Does too much food, too much television, too much of anything of the blessings of God that are from His material world, things that can make us worldly if we use them in the wrong way, or are we worldly no matter which form we use them in. Can a mortal man live continuously in the spiritual world, seeking the things of the world only when absolutely necessary, is he is worldly only when using these items, enjoying the movie, driving his car, but spiritual when not.
We are not to be conformed to this world, (Romans 12:2) this means that we are not to think, act and do as the unsaved human beings do that are where? Right, in the world, so how do you do that and still live and enjoy the creation of God, how do you live in the world, use almost all that it offers, but not be a part of it? What exactly is the “world” that we are not to be conformed to, not to be a part of, keep ourselves apart from at all times. Garbage in, garbage out, if you hang around the lost on a continuous and regular basis, you will more than likely become like them again, if you take your eyes off of Christ and keep looking at the people who are lost, you will likely stop following Him and start following them. Creation is not the world, the things that have been created by man are not the world, the world is the lost, those whom the wrath of God abides on, (John 3:36) and so how do the lost think, how do unrepentant sinners think, act and do, well not spiritually, but, you got it, worldly.
“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” (James 3:16) This is what is meant by the term worldly, to have envy and strife. Envy says that I want what you have, strife says I am right, and you are wrong. If you would like another verse of what it means to be worldly, how about 1st John 2:16, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, these are just two of the examples of what it means to be a part of the world. There is nothing wrong about God’s creation, besides the fact that the earth is under a curse, did you think that say, Mars and Jupiter and all the rest of the known and unknown parts of the universe were under the same curse?
Man can create things intended for good and those things that are meant for evil, but in neither case do any of them serve any purpose unless they are used, no matter what their intended design is, they are not sentient. A nuclear bomb is nothing more than a big paper weight until somebody pushes the button, and why would that button ever be pushed? Why, because of envying and strife of course, to consume something upon our own lusts. (James 1:14) If you are going to be worldly, then you have to be envious, you need to lust, you have to have pride, you have to want more than God has given and offered you. What’s a good way to not be worldly? How about this, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
Now, a lot of people think that means we will never want for anything, and they place that context within the items that are offered thru the world, if you please, food, clothing, housing, all the way up to that car that gets you to work, but I tend to look at it a little differently. “I shall not want” means that I am to be thankful for what I have been given, no matter how little or how much, it means that His grace is sufficient, that even if he slays me, yet will I praise His name. (Job 13:15) If He wants me to suffer, I shall not want, if He wants me in trials and tribulations, I shall not want. I shall not want because I have Him, and He is all I want, He is my shepherd, what more could I want? How could I possibly envy anyone when I have in fullness all that any could ever want, Christ, how could I be at strife with anyone when I know that if God is for me, who can stand against me? (Romans 8:31)
I know He is Sovereign, so I have no need of pride, what I have is what He wants me to have, so I have nothing to lust after, all that I have ever seen, all that shall ever be is mine, for I am an inheritor with Christ, what can anyone offer me that is beyond that?
How many people are trading the temporary happiness of the things that are transitory for the joy of the eternal, how sad. People have become churchy, and the church is becoming worldly. You have everything you could ever want, you have Christ, what did you think He was going to do, leave you and forsake you, look down on you because you’re not living up to His standards, change His mind about His love for you and start punishing you? Please, don’t play this head game with yourself any longer, He loves you, He always has and he always will, your one of His children, and He dearly loves His children, in fact, enough to send His own Son to die for you so you could be with Him for all eternity.
Study the Scriptures every day, allow the Holy Spirit to transform your mind, pray without ceasing, and the things of the world will begin to fade away, to be in the presence of Christ for all of eternity will become your true perspective. You will want nothing but Him.
