When the apostle John ended his letter on love, the Holy Spirit inspired him to end it with these words, because there are going to be things in our lives that are going to beg for our time, energy and affection, and we need be on our guard against these things. We have already looked at 1 John 2:15 which says - "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." And we've considered how the world, it's systems, thinking and values can influence us and become idols in our lives. Now I want to turn our attention to the second part of the verse, "Do not love... the things in the world." Although this is directly connected to the worlds values this does take it one step farther than simply "Do not love the world." Of course, if we are not thinking like and valuing what the world values then we won't love the things in the world, but I think this deserves our attention because the Holy Spirit inspired John to write it in His holy Word, meaning that this is a message for you and I today. "Do not love the things in the world." In looking at this I want to focus specifically on our attitude toward earthly possessions.
Later on in this same book the apostle alludes to this idea
of possessions being idols, and he says in 1 John 3:16-17 - "We know love
by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in
need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in
him?" Our love for God is going to work itself out in practical ways
toward one another. If I see a fellow believer in need and I have the resources
to help them but I don't because I consider what I have as my own, my
possessions have become an idol in my life.
Anything we posses that takes our time, affection or resources away from the Lord can become an idol in our lives. In Matthew 6:19 the Lord Jesus says - "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." This verse is very simple. It's not hard to understand what the Lord is saying in this verse, and yet it is often distorted. We don't like what it has to say because it's uncomfortable. We often hear it taught that Jesus simply meant don't store up as many treasures on earth as you do in heaven, but that is frankly not what the Lord says. When the Lord says "Do not lie." He doesn't mean you should tell the truth more than you lie, and when He says "Do not steal." He doesn't mean that you should buy more stuff than you steal, and when He says "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth." He doesn't mean that you should lay up for yourself more treasure in heaven than on earth. No matter how uncomfortable it might make us, we cannot change or dismiss what the Lord has said. He goes on to say in Verse 24 - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." The word "mammon" means material possessions. So the Lord shows that there is no balance here. There is a contrast between loving God and loving the world or the things in the world. You can't have a little bit of both. It doesn't work. Either you'll hate one and love the other, or you'll cling to one and despise the other. You cannot do both. You can't say "I'm gonna follow after the world and store up treasure for myself on the earth, but at the same time I'm gonna do good things, good works and store up treasures in heaven." There's a contrast. It's one or the other, God or mammon. When the nation of Israel was entering the promised land where the people would be tempted to follow false gods and idols, Joshua charged the people saying in Joshua 24- "Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." This decision is before each one of us. Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether God or mammon, and we would be wise to follow Joshua's example. The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. Time is only for a season, but eternity is forever. You can lay up for yourself treasures on the earth but that is so short sighted.
Anything we posses that takes our time, affection or resources away from the Lord can become an idol in our lives. In Matthew 6:19 the Lord Jesus says - "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." This verse is very simple. It's not hard to understand what the Lord is saying in this verse, and yet it is often distorted. We don't like what it has to say because it's uncomfortable. We often hear it taught that Jesus simply meant don't store up as many treasures on earth as you do in heaven, but that is frankly not what the Lord says. When the Lord says "Do not lie." He doesn't mean you should tell the truth more than you lie, and when He says "Do not steal." He doesn't mean that you should buy more stuff than you steal, and when He says "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth." He doesn't mean that you should lay up for yourself more treasure in heaven than on earth. No matter how uncomfortable it might make us, we cannot change or dismiss what the Lord has said. He goes on to say in Verse 24 - "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." The word "mammon" means material possessions. So the Lord shows that there is no balance here. There is a contrast between loving God and loving the world or the things in the world. You can't have a little bit of both. It doesn't work. Either you'll hate one and love the other, or you'll cling to one and despise the other. You cannot do both. You can't say "I'm gonna follow after the world and store up treasure for myself on the earth, but at the same time I'm gonna do good things, good works and store up treasures in heaven." There's a contrast. It's one or the other, God or mammon. When the nation of Israel was entering the promised land where the people would be tempted to follow false gods and idols, Joshua charged the people saying in Joshua 24- "Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." This decision is before each one of us. Choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether God or mammon, and we would be wise to follow Joshua's example. The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever. Time is only for a season, but eternity is forever. You can lay up for yourself treasures on the earth but that is so short sighted.
I just want to clarify that it is not wrong to have things,
but we need to watch our attitude toward them to ensure that we are not placing
our trust in them and that they are not becoming idols in our lives. Do I show
that my material possessions are my treasures by the way that I treat them?
Maybe a question we need to ask ourselves is, what is my attitude toward my
possessions? Do I own anything that I am not willing to part with? If so, that
thing has become an idol to me, and I would do well to part with it, even for a
season, to guard myself from idols.
I was listening to the radio sometime back, and K. P. Yohanan had some challenging thoughts on this topic. He
said "We as believers spend hours watching television but minutes watching
in prayer. We are hungry for the sports page and have little taste for the
Word. We spend more money on pet food than on foreign missions. We love to
feast but hate to fast. We welcome Gods blessings but are weary of His burdens.
Is this what Jesus died for? Is this our new life in Him? Stop for a moment and
think. Anyone who spends more time playing video games than seeking God in
prayer has no right to call Jesus "Lord." Anyone who takes pleasure
in today's perverted soap operas and movies is serving another God. Anyone who
cannot die to sports for a season is worshiping idols. If anyone loves the
world the love of the Father is not in him, because friendship with the world
is hatred toward God. In reality the question is this, whose friends are we? It
is time for some serious soul searching. What kind of born again experience
have we had if it calls for almost no personal sacrifice, produces virtually no
separation from the world and breeds practically no hatred of sin? How can we
claim to be born from above? Where is the evidence of the new nature? We call
ourselves citizens of heaven, yet our hearts are caught up in earthly
treasures. We say we are the people of God but we are entertained by the worst
of the devils children. We claim to be dead to the world, yet we are more
interested in temporal fashions than in eternal souls. Something is wrong with
our salvation experience." These are scathing words but we would do well
to consider them and let the Lord search us. Ask Him to reveal to you if there
is anything in your life that is taking His place. Anything you possess that
has become an idol in your life. And if and when He reveals it to you, forsake
it.
The Lord Jesus set the example for us in the way that He
treated material possessions. In Matthew 8:20 we read - "Jesus said to him,
“The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”" In regard
to material possessions the Lord Jesus lived a very simple life. According to
this verse He didn't even have a home. The Lord Jesus did not live the American
dream. He didn't have a house with a swimming pool in the backyard, a lot of
money and two cars in the driveway. He lived a very simple life. In fact, at
one point during the life of Christ some tax-collectors came to Peter and asked
"Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?" So Peter asked the Lord
Jesus "Are we required to pay the temple tax?" And the Lord Jesus
basically said, we'll pay it in order to not give offense. But He didn't simply
pull a coin out of His pocket to pay. He told Peter to go fishing, and He said
that in the mouth of the first fish that he caught there would be a coin large
enough to pay the tax for both of them. Presumably He didn't even have a coin
to pull out of His pocket. Do you think that anyone could accuse the Lord Jesus
of falling in love with or idolizing the world or the things in it?
Sometimes we tend to think that if we do not lay up
treasures for ourselves then we are going to be in want, but the Lord Jesus
points out in Matthew chapter 6 how ridiculous this thought really is. The Lord
Jesus says in verses 25-34 - "For this reason I
say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat or what
you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life
more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air,
that they do not sow, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of
you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life span? And why are you
anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not
toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did
not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the
field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He
not much more do so for you? O men of little faith! Do not be anxious then,
saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe
ourselves?’ For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly
Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. therefore do not be
anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own." We will never lack
anything that we need. He has promised to provide for us as we seek first His
kingdom and His righteousness. and when He says to seek first His kingdom and
His righteousness, it doesn't mean that you're seeking all these things, but He
is at the top of the list. That's what we tend to think of when we talk about
putting something first, but the idea being communicated here is one of
preeminence. In Colossians 1 we're told that Jesus Christ might have the
preeminence, or first place in everything. And this isn't the picture of a race
where you have first, second and third but sometimes it's hard to even
distinguish them, the idea of preeminence is that might have everything. That
He is the only one in the race, so to speak. It's not that He just barely makes
it by someone or something else, but that He has your complete devotion, your
complete love, that you're not divided between Him and anything else.
1 John 5:21 - "Little children, guard yourselves from idols."
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