Can you imagine a world without television, the internet, and vehicles? What would our lives be like in such a world? Truly, the world in which we live is full of material things. They are so many that one cannot make a complete list of them. And quite a lot of these things cannot be done away with for they are useful for communication, transportation, our comfort, and our very survival.
However, we Christians have been warned by the Holy Scriptures against loving the world and loving the things in the world (1 John 2:15-16). The phrase ‘the things that are in the world’ in 1 John 2:15 does not refer to the items we have on this earth such as vehicles, musical instruments, etc. The clue to finding what the Bible refers to as ‘the things that are in the world’ is in the next verse, verse 16.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 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
In the context of 1 John 2:15, ‘the things that are in the world’ are three, which are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Therefore to love the things that are in the world is to give yourself over to ‘the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life:
I. What is the lust of the flesh?
The lust of the flesh refers to the impure desires of our sinful human nature. You satisfy these impure desires of your human nature when you partake in bad practices that make you feel satisfied in one way or another such as vengeance, drug abuse, alcoholism, masturbation, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, mockery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, reveling, (Galatians 5:19-21).
It is a normal thing for a man to love a woman and desire to marry her. However, in the situation in which a man’s desire is just to have sex with the woman, that is called lust and it is part of what the Bible calls the lust of the flesh. In one historic event, a prince called Amnon, the son of King David, became a victim of the lust of the flesh. Amnon lusted after his half-sister Tamar so much and was obsessed with the desire to have sex with her. Eventually, he raped Tamar to satisfy that sinful desire for sex.
After the rape of Tamar, Absolom the brother of Tamar was greatly offended and his heart desired vengeance. Eventually, he killed his half-brother Amnon to satisfy his thirst for vengeance, making him also a victim of the lust of the flesh, for vengeance is also a sinful desire of man.
II. What is the lust of the eyes?
The lust of the eyes is the desire to have what you see. Anytime you see something belonging to someone and you have a strong desire to have it – it is covetousness and the lust of the eyes. When you see someone’s wife and you feel a strong desire to have her, it is the lust of the eyes.
- It was the lust of the eyes that made King David commit adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:1-5).
- It was the lust of the eyes that led Achan to take the forbidden items from the spoils of Jericho (Joshua 7:20-21)
- Etc.
The lust of the eyes leads to the sin of covetousness, and extravagance, and it also makes men stare lustfully at women on end. The lust of the eyes and its kin, covetousness, are responsible for dozens of crimes committed. E.g.: There are many instances where Person A sees what Person B has and he devises ways to kill Person B to take his possessions such as money, car, land, house, etc. Also, robbery and theft are sins that are influenced by the lust of the eyes.
III. What is the pride of life?
The pride of life is the sin of being arrogant or boastful about what one has achieved. It is also the sin of seeing others as inferior on account of your achievements, or personality, or status. Examples are self-righteousness or feeling more righteous than others; feeling more important than others on account of your beauty, fame, etc.; lording yourself over others because of your position, achievement, riches, etc.; being glory-seeking; etc.
According to biblical records, Nebuchadnezzar II is one of those found guilty of the pride of life. One day he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and when he saw the magnificence of the city of Babylon, he was moved, out of pride and arrogance, Nebuchadnezzar said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty (Daniel 4:30 ESV)?” God dealt with Nebuchadnezzar for his pride – his pride of life – by turning him into a beast to humble him.
Love for the things in the world is responsible for numerous sins
Now we know that the things in the world as used in 1 John 2:15 refer to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Hence we can see that love for the things in the world is the stimulus behind most of the heinous crimes and offenses committed or perpetrated by people. The world is plagued with immorality, crime, wickedness, etc. just because the human inhabitants of the world are continually practicing bad deeds to satisfy their lust or desire for sex, drugs, alcohol, power, fame, glory, and also to take what other people possess.
Conclusion
Once again, the term things in the world as used in 1 John 2:15 does not refer to items such as computers, books, clocks, etc. that we use in the world. They rather refer to human deeds related to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And to love the things of the world is to live in the sins of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.