Do not love the world

The world is full of many good things that God has made – the magnificence of the universe, the beauty of nature, the warmth of community with other living beings, the adventure of discovering and creating new things. These are good things, they come from God, and they are meant to be enjoyed by us. It comes as a surprise, then, when John tells us not to love the world or the things in it, in the second chapter of his first letter:

Do not love the world, or things in the world. The Father’s love is not in anyone who loves the world. Everything that is in the world, sinful cravings, the desires of the eyes, and pride over life’s achievements, belongs not to the Father, but to the world. The world is disappearing with its desires, but someone who obeys God’s will remains forever.

People whose understanding of reality is limited to material things come to love those things. For those of us who believe in Jesus, our primary citizenship is in heaven. The things that we love are things which endure forever, not things which have no lasting value or consequence. All of our earthly achievements and belongings, no matter how great, count for nothing in the face of eternity. That is why we need to remember that we are temporary strangers in the world, and nothing that we earn or accumulate really belongs to us.