When John writes, “Do not love the world nor the things of the world”, he is not talking about the beauty of Creation: the trees and mountains, oceans and lakes, sunrises and sunsets; nor is he talking about the people of the earth. In fact, God loves the people of the earth and sends us to them with the Gospel good news of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament, when we are warned about the “world”, it means the ways and ideas of the world that are hostile to God and rebel against His Word and Commands. The “world” in this sense would include the culture, the attitudes, and the mindset of those who reject Christ. It includes the so-called wisdom of the world, its philosophies, and theories. It includes much secular education, the media, and politics. The world is the wicked and corrupt environment we live in that is always tempting us to join in; it lures and entices you to think like it thinks, to act as it acts, to love what it loves. The world rejects Christ, hates His word, neglects His commandments, and persecutes His people. It’s pretty easy to see why St. John writes to us and says “Do not love the world nor anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.”

In Christ, you have been moved into the Kingdom of God; the Lord has delivered you out of the darkness, and into the Light! Rather than loving the world, the pride of life, and chasing the lusts of the flesh, you learn to love the Lord your God and serve Him alone!

Don’t get tangled up with the world, its ways or its thinking: it won’t be here much longer. You have been rescued from the world by Christ; you belong to Him. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. Amen!