I hate the world today. It’s about time, I suppose. As long as we are enjoying the things of this world, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to devote ourselves to the Lord. Most people I’ve talked to think the era they grew up in was the best, and it’s all been downhill from there. My father grew up in the ’50s and swears it was the best time in history to grow up.
I grew up in the ’80s, and I’d strongly propose those were the best of times. I can’t imagine anyone growing up in our current environment looking back and saying it was the best time to be alive. That’s very sad, but also very hopeful for the Church and Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
When we are content with the world, it is not possible to be living life as a disciple of Jesus. John tells us if we love the world, or the things of the world, the love of God is not in us (1 John 2:15). If the love of the Father is not in us, how then can we love His Son? So, as agonizing as the past year has been, it’s opened my eyes to show me I’d become a bit too comfortable in this world. I’ve been on a discipleship quest for many years and have worked to rid myself of everything that was not of Christ. But now I see the cuts did not go nearly deep enough.
When we are comfortable in this world, we lose sight of our mission. As long as we have the freedom to speak the truth and move without restriction, there is the sense we can accomplish anything. Our faith isn’t costly because there are no consequences for it. These days, though, consequences are flooding in. In Canada, pastors are being arrested for holding worship services. Their government is threatening to remove children from the homes of those who do not comply with their local mandates regarding worship gatherings.
Of course, this is nothing new to our brothers and sisters in Central Asia and the Middle East. I’m thinking they fell out of love with the world a long time ago. For those of us in the West, we carried on in our love affair, convinced we were devoted to Christ while clinging to our love of the world. The wake-up call has come, and it has been rude.
So, I think it’s a good thing I hate the world today. It’s ugly, divisive, arrogant, hateful, violent, and out of control. To put it another way, the world is full of sin. It has been for all our lives. We knew it, but we didn’t feel it. We were too busy enjoying the pleasures this world offered. In our stupor, we failed to see we were feasting on things not created by God but coming from the pits of Hell itself. We fell asleep and gave ourselves over to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride in our lifestyle (1 John 2:16). We loved the world, and we prostituted ourselves to it. Repent! Each of us must repent and turn away from the world.
It’s easier now to hate the world, but we should have been hating it all along. Love the people in the world, but hate the world and all it represents. This world is not our home. We were supposed to be sojourners here, but we took up residence and began following the practices of those who belong to the land. I say again, repent! Our only hope is to return to our Father and beg forgiveness from His gracious and merciful Son. This is our wake-up call. How will you respond?