As far as 1 John 2:15 goes, Love not the world! For the record, the same words are used for LOVE, WORLD and THE as in the famous verse, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…” So what does this mean? God the Father himself loved the world according to John 3:16; does He “not have the love of the Father in Him?” Of course not, God has a perfect love, and His delight and love for Himself is obvious and apparent. God could not NOT-LOVE himself. So what is this verse saying then?
I believe that there are two things we can gather here. First, our love for God ought to be so overwhelming, so STRONG, that our affection for the things of this world should pale in comparison. It should seem to people that you “are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good.” That’s our goal as Christians. This has an implication that nonbelievers have much trouble swallowing, that is, that our love for Jesus Christ must be above our love for our own wife or husband and kids!
This is not enough though, and I’m sure, not the sole intent of this verse. Loving the Father the most, and truly loving Jesus Christ will result in a love for the things HE LOVES. It will also result in hatred for that which He hates. I’m talking about things like idolatry, adultery, theft and lying. (Proverbs 6:16-19) These are the things of the world to which this verse refers, for examples. Our affections should be for the types of things God love; why would we want anything less? If the God who redeemed you from your sin, and snatched you from the gates of hell does not love false religion, lying, superstition, adultery, murder, dishonoring of parents, sorcery, and idolatry, why would you? (Revelation 21:8) Why settle for anything less than that which is truly loveable?
What less obvious part of your life are you holding onto right now that God doesn’t love? How are you justifying it? Is it too much TV or internet? Are you maybe a little too fanatical about your sports team, and, thus, not always putting God first? If Jesus visited your Facebook page would He write “Well done my good and faithful servant” in a comment, or would He feel like an intruder on your life? Do you spend more time on idle tasks than reading the Word? What if your spouse could look over your shoulder when you’re on the internet, or see through your eyes at the mall, would he or she consider your heart loyal? God knows all those thoughts and actions…Do not love the world or the things that are in the world!
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