1 John 2:15-17
“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. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
In this passage, John warns of three “things of the world” that we should not love.
(1) The desires of the flesh. This is when the world tempts you with things that feel good. It is a reference to the impulses and passions of the old nature, often called the sin nature. Humans have a tendency to fulfill natural desires in a way that is contrary to God’s will. Having desire or passion or appetites is not intrinsically bad; it depends on the object toward which your desire is directed. The sin nature distorts and misdirects a natural desire.
For example, the sin nature distorts natural sexual appetites into lust. It distorts physical appetite into gluttony. It distorts healthy emotion into disruptive, negative feelings. The desire of the flesh is powerful; it can be fun, enticing, attractive … and deadly. Not everything that feels good is good for you.
(2) The desires of the eyes. This is when the world tempts you with things that look good. Your eyes—that is, the way you see things—is not intrinsically evil. Proverbs 20:12 says, “The hearing ear and the seeing eye—the Lord made them both.” However, the sin nature distorts the way we see things.
This is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-29, “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
We are creatures of sight, and we must continually be on guard. Remember, it was David’s eyes that led him to lie, commit adultery, and murder (2 Sam 11). Not everything that looks good is good for you.
(3) The pride of life. This is when the world tempts you with things you mistakenly think will make you look good: appearance, position, possessions, popularity, power. It’s an attitude of arrogance. It’s a person’s pride in their wealth, rank, or stature in society. It is parading one’s position or possessions to impress other people. James 4:16 underscores the warning: “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” Not everything that makes you look good is good for you.
The world is constantly trying to seduce us with things that feel good, look good, and that we think will make us look good. We must resist. We must stand firm in the face of these temptations. We must not give our attention or affection to the things of the world.
John’s final comment in this passage is this: “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” The world is temporary and transient, but the kingdom of God is eternal. If you love the world and attach yourself to it, then you are giving your devotion to something that will eventually pass away.
The world and its “things” can be stimulating, but it is a dead-end street.
