Do Not Love the World

Here's a pertinent message delivered today:

Do not love the world or what is in the world.
If anyone does love the world, the love of the Father finds no place in him,
because everything there is in the world - 
disordered bodily desires, 
disordered desires of the eyes, 
pride in possession -
is not from the Father but is from the world.
And the world, with all its disordered desires, is passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

It sounds like it could be Pope Francis' message today, but it's a little older.  It's from 1 John 2: 12-17.

As Americans, we love the world - I mean we really love the world.  Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  The pursuit of happiness usually means a healthy dose of capitalism and materialism.  He who dies with the most toys wins, right?  Gluttony, lust, greed, selfishness - we have them all in spades. I'm certainly not preaching at everyone else - I have them too.

Isn't it ironic that one of the ways the world has perverted Christmas is to focus on all of these things?  We look forward to eating too much and getting gifts.  Even in one of the most holy times of year, the world manages to entice us with these sins.  Don't get me wrong - there are wonderful things in the Christmas season that get emphasized even by our culture.  We are expected to gather with our families, donate to the poor (although this might be more motivated by end of the year tax considerations) and even attend church.  For some this might be the only time of year they do these things.

This week I'm enjoying time with my children.  We're doing some fun things together, just hanging out and generally trying to get away from the stress and worries of life.  I'm trying to keep it simple.  It's not always easy.  I think Heaven will be like that - no stress or worries and just being in the present with loved ones and God.  I want to keep my focus on that because what the world is offering seems to result in an endless pursuit for more with no satisfaction.

I won't lie - I like the good things the world offers.  I'm just trying not to love it.

CC