“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.
Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.
The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
1 John 2:15-17 MSG
What do you love more than God? Who do you love more than God?
If you find yourself loving things or people or perhaps yourself, more than you love God….you’re headed in the wrong direction.
Look what John says, “Don’t love the world’s ways. Or the world’s goods.” Why? Because the love of these things squeezes out the love for the Father. We are either in the Word and being conformed to the likeness of His Son OR we are in the world being squeezed into its mold. Those are the only two options.
One is centered on self and all of self’s wants. The other is centered on God and all of what God wants.
One asks, “How does this affect me?” The other asks, “What do you want me to learn in this circumstance, Lord?”
One is absorbed with getting ahead, wanting to be better than the other guy, keeping up with the Joneses…which has NOTHING to do with God’s ways and everything to do with the world’s ways. This choice keeps me isolated from God. My self-centered ways will do just that. Oh, He never moves from me…it’s me…my thoughts, my ways…that slides me down the bench. He never moves away. I do.
And all of this me…me…me stuff is so temporary. It’s just for the now…and how much “now” do I actually have left? It’s like putting all your eggs in one basket that will eventually crash to the floor leaving nothing. All spent on the “now “. No investment in THEE DAY. Just in today. And my wants, wants, wants.
The other is choosing a REAL Happy New Year. The formula is written down for us…”whoever does what God wants is set for eternity!” Not just set for now but for all of eternity. That’s God’s promise to me…to you! The choice is obvious.
