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Problems With the World
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16).
While verse 15 is quite a broad warning against loving the world, verse 16 now spells out some details. What does it mean to love the world? John mentions three things: (1) the lust of the flesh, (2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the boastful pride of life. John says that these three things are not of the Father but of the world; yet, our flesh, our eyes, and our life all come from God. What, then, is the problem? What is John warning us against?
Lust of the flesh, obviously, deals with passions, though it does not have to be limited to that alone. See Gal. 5:19-21.
Lust of the eyes, though certainly linked to the flesh, takes it deeper, takes it to our thoughts, our desires, to the things that we see and want for ourselves. See Exod. 20:17.
What does John mean about "the pride of life"? What is this, and why is it so bad? See Job 12:10, Acts 17:28.
The idea of "the pride of life" implies independence from God. It's as if we ourselves created our lives, and hence the glory and honor of any of our accomplishments should belong to ourselves. "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves" (Ps. 100:3). In contrast, when we realize that every breath, every heartbeat, everything that we could ever have or be comes only from God, upon whom we're utterly dependent, pride will be the last thing in our hearts. As sinful, fallen beings whose very existence depends totally on the grace and beneficence of our God, as beings utterly incapable of saving ourselves from eternal death and destruction, we should be humble and meek regarding our lives, not full of pride about them. It was pride that brought the fall of Lucifer in a perfect world; as beings in an imperfect one, we should flee it like the plague.
Which is it for you? Lust of the flesh? Lust of the eyes? The pride of life? Or any combination thereof? What's your only hope? What are you waiting for to make the changes that must come?
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16).
While verse 15 is quite a broad warning against loving the world, verse 16 now spells out some details. What does it mean to love the world? John mentions three things: (1) the lust of the flesh, (2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the boastful pride of life. John says that these three things are not of the Father but of the world; yet, our flesh, our eyes, and our life all come from God. What, then, is the problem? What is John warning us against?
Lust of the flesh, obviously, deals with passions, though it does not have to be limited to that alone. See Gal. 5:19-21.
Lust of the eyes, though certainly linked to the flesh, takes it deeper, takes it to our thoughts, our desires, to the things that we see and want for ourselves. See Exod. 20:17.
What does John mean about "the pride of life"? What is this, and why is it so bad? See Job 12:10, Acts 17:28.
The idea of "the pride of life" implies independence from God. It's as if we ourselves created our lives, and hence the glory and honor of any of our accomplishments should belong to ourselves. "Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves" (Ps. 100:3). In contrast, when we realize that every breath, every heartbeat, everything that we could ever have or be comes only from God, upon whom we're utterly dependent, pride will be the last thing in our hearts. As sinful, fallen beings whose very existence depends totally on the grace and beneficence of our God, as beings utterly incapable of saving ourselves from eternal death and destruction, we should be humble and meek regarding our lives, not full of pride about them. It was pride that brought the fall of Lucifer in a perfect world; as beings in an imperfect one, we should flee it like the plague.
Which is it for you? Lust of the flesh? Lust of the eyes? The pride of life? Or any combination thereof? What's your only hope? What are you waiting for to make the changes that must come?
God Bless! Betty