I Love This World (but I shouldn’t)
Don’t read the bible. That is, don’t read it unless you LIKE having your butt kicked.
Okay, DO read the bible. It is a very good thing. I just got beat over the head with a God-sized 2×4 while reading 1 John (it’s been hitting me over the head for the last week…)
“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 in possessions–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.” 1 John 2:15-17 ESV
I really like my computers. I’m pretty proud of them. They are nice. I have a 20″ iMac G5 and a 12″ PowerBook G4. They are sweet, fast, powerful, stable, good-looking, and very 1337.
The NIV puts verse 16 a little differently: For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
I am pretty proud of my Web design, and often have to stop myself from “boasting” about it.
When I take pride in my possessions or my work/deeds, I do not have the love of the father in me. That is a big problem.
Lord, help me repent from loving the things of this world.
I do not know exactly what genre of christianity my neighbors practice, but they have some interesting friends. (Every friday night they have a ton of people over. All the ladies wear skirts.. its spooky) A while back Kristin and I had dinner next door. They had a house full of guests. Two gentlemen were actually staying with our neighbors. A middle aged man and a younger 30ish guy. They have no possesions at all. They borrow a car from someone, live with others and travel around. They must really take that verse seriously.
On taking pride in your work:
I think it’s OK to take pleasure in your work Matt and appreciate the fact that you have talent in an area, of course, recognizing that God gave that talent to you and the capacity to take pleasure in it.
We are created in God’s image after all, which includes being creative. When he made cool stuff, what’d he say? “It is good.”
Just making a differentiation there.
Eric Liddell, in “Chariots of Fire”: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”