3 Friendship with the world
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James 4:4-5 [NIV]
James 4:4-5 [NIV]
The Bible sees the church as fundamentally opposed to what it calls the world. It all boils down to values – the church standing for self-denial and following Christ (Luke 9: 23), and the world standing for self-centredness and following the spirit of the age.
In our day, the world is characterised by materialism, and by the idea that under human control things will inevitably get better. The world is implacably opposed to the gospel message and to any suggestion that there is anything wrong with the human condition.
Of course, each one of us started life in the world and we still live our lives immersed in its principles and culture. Sometimes we don’t even realise that we are adopting its standards, and when we do, it can be difficult for us to disentangle ourselves. So it can be all too easy for us to compartmentalise our lives and adopt one set of values at home and another at work.
Elaine Storkey writes: We can live in two quite different worlds. In one we pray, worship, read Scripture and talk about Christianity. In the other we work, buy, watch TV and conduct our business. And these worlds might barely coincide.
But look once again at James’ words. He is passionate about this. Adopting the world’s standards is adultery – it’s as good as hating God! And in living comfortably with the world we become his enemies. Here is a wake-up call for each of us.
Dear Father, please put your finger on one place in my life where I compromising with the world. Show me what I can do to put things right.
David Long
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