Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17
John begins this passage with a clear command, "Do not love the world or anything in the world." There is no middle ground with this issue: either you love God, or you love the world. You cannot love both. Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
God provides what we need and gives us good gifts. But sometimes we can get too attached to the things of this world. Chasing after a way of life or the way people see us can consume our souls and suck the spiritual life out of us. This leaves us depleted and wanting more of the same "fix." Ultimately, we are ineffective in honoring God and building His Kingdom. This is exactly what Satan wants.
In verse 16 of the passage above, John gives us the three ways we can get sucked into craving what Satan has to offer.
Simply put, lust of the flesh means craving physical pleasures. It refers to our physical body or its appetites. Our bodies have many needs or desires (food, sex, affection, shelter) that in themselves are God-given and perfectly fine. However, these same needs can become sin when taken to extremes. For example, the need for food, when taken to the extreme, becomes gluttony. Or the desire for sex becomes adultery when it is directed toward someone who is not one's spouse.
Our sexuality is a gift from God and as His followers, we are called to a life of sexual purity. When we dip our toes (or dive head-first) into the areas He has protected for marriage, we chip away at the most important parts of ourselves. The ability and willingness to wholly trust another person, to completely give our whole selves to another person, to allow ourselves to be fully loved and accepted by another person—these things are eroded every time we step outside the guardrails God has set for us.
Romans 13:12-14 says, "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh."
The cravings of the flesh can be so strong we feel there is no hope of overcoming them. The good news is Jesus set an example for us when He was tempted in this same way. His temptation came after fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. At that point, Satan enticed Him to turn stones into bread in order to satisfy His hunger. Being fully man, certainly Jesus was so, so hungry. But Jesus responded, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). We must understand our purpose in life is not to gratify our cravings but to do the will of our Heavenly Father.
These days, we are inundated with advertising images. There are flat-screen TVs at the gas pump, banner ads across from our email inboxes, and commercials at the movie theater, all touting The Thing We Didn't Know We Wanted But Now We Just Have To Have It! It's no wonder we fall into craving material things. Advertisers understand this concept all too well. They flash images on these screens of everything from cars to clothes to soda—all so attractive and perfect and fulfilling. Our lives would finally be complete if we just had that. The grass really is greener on the other side of the fence! James speaks of the extremes people will go to in order to get the things they desire, "you desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God" (James 4:2).
Jesus also had to face down the temptations to covet, and in doing so He showed us how to overcome it. Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered to give them to Him if He would kneel before Satan and worship. Jesus responded, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only'" (Matthew 4:10). Jesus recognized that to give in to this kind of temptation was to actually worship these things. And to worship the things of the world is to worship the one to whom they belong.
Pride could be thought of as the "mother of all sins." At one time or another, we all suffer from it. It's the thought of not needing God. The idea that we've got it handled and are doing just fine on our own, thankyouverymuch. The Bible clearly teaches that pride will lead to our downfall. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).
It should come as no surprise Jesus was also tempted in this manner. Satan dared Jesus to show off by leaping from the top of the temple. Jesus responded, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test'" (Matthew 4:7). If we have been blessed with positions and possessions, we must be careful not to put our confidence in them, because 1 John 2:17 tells us that they will not last: "The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever."
Jim Elliot, a Christian missionary, once said, "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Verse 17 teaches us we will share in the destiny of whatever we give our lives to. If we give our lives to the world, we will pass away and be separated from God for all eternity. If we give our lives to Him, we will enjoy paradise with Him forever. As the verse says, "whoever does the will of God lives forever." Are you living for eternity or for the now? Are you more concerned about laying up treasure for retirement or for heaven? Do you care more about what people think of you or what God thinks of you?