Beware Of The World

13 Mar

“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.”  ~ Eugene H. Peterson

It’s incredibly difficult not to love the world’s ways and the world’s goods, isn’t it?  I think it’s difficult because the world provides what most of us want most of the time:  immediate gratification.

That’s right.  The world promises and the world delivers — in its own way.  Of course, we often do not realize that when the world delivers something, it generally comes with strings attached.  The promises of the world shield a certain reality from our eyes.  That reality is that the promises and goods of the world are most often antithetical to God, God’s love, and God’s ways.

Let’s be clear about that.  Yes, the world can provide a modicum of joy, success, and fortune to its people.  At the same time, the world has its own design and its own agenda.  Those are often not compatible with God’s will or with God’s Kingdom.

Lent is a holy season that challenges us to take a deep dive into ourselves and see just where we align our lives.  If we align ourselves to the goodness and “graces” of the world, we will soon find ourselves astray.  If, instead, we align ourselves to the goodness and graces of the Kingdom of God, we shall be able to discern the way that leads to the Kingdom.

It’s a blessing to be a child of God.  It’s just not easy being a child of God.  The world calls us with all its might, trying to ensnare us with its empty promises.  Steer clear of them.  Instead, cling to the Lord.

FAITH ACTION:  Make sure that all you do today is centered around your love for God and not the world.