Beware of the Mall?

The Old Testament exodus from Egypt illustrates sinners leaving behind a life of bondage to sin. Of course sin tries to pul us back, just as Pharaoh tried to prevent God’s people from leaving Egypt by pulling them back. It was a huge battle, but eventually he had to let them go.

My book, Recalling the Hope of Glory, points out that Moses’ demand to Pharaoh to be allowed to go three days into the desert to sacrifice to the LORD was a significant request. Pharaoh knew that they would be giving their allegiance to their God and honoring Him as their highest authority. He knew they would not come back. He tried to suppress their worship, but true worship cannot be restrained. Those who know and love the LORD must eventually express it.

Although Egypt was a place of bondage and a hard life for God’s people, there were times when freedom seemed a greater challenge, however. In their journey to the promised land God’s people remembered and missed the fresh vegetables of Egypt and lamented that they were in a desert place without much to eat.

Sin is a place of bondage too, yet in a similar way the Christian life becomes challenging and that old life has an appeal. We tend to forget the struggle of it and remember only the carefree parts, the ‘fresh vegetables’ that create a craving in our minds.

God warns not to go there. He says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

Christians talk too often about worldliness in terms of shopping or wanting the bobbles and trinkets in the mall, but it is more than that. It begins with a desire to have what I crave, a craving based on what I can see and enjoy, and on the things that will make me look good to others. It is a value system contrary to His, a value system based on temporary things that feel good now, look good now, and put my esteem up a notch for now, but this is not of God.

How can I escape the temptation to run back? My book says, “When it comes to the question of allegiance, true believers will proclaim their devotion to the living God through worship.”

Those who abandon Sunday services, for whatever reason, slip easily into the love of the world. Sleeping in becomes a craving. Other activities are more appealing. What will my friends think? becomes a question. Instead of God, the world becomes enthroned in the heart.

So the test regarding worldliness is really a test concerning true and false worship. Who and what is the most important in my life? What do I spend my time thinking about? Doing? Serving? This is not only a matter for Sunday mornings only, but for all of life.

The pull of the world is strong against those in the process of trying to escape it, and in those who have escaped but are still on their way to spiritual maturity. However the world’s lure permeates life so much that it can creep up and grab the affection of old timers like me without me even noticing. As John wrote, I need to be diligent in doing the will of God and continually aware of where I am placing my affections.

Today I see that escaping the pull of the world does not mean avoiding the mall or moving to a remote place where there are no trinkets. It simply means putting God first and worshiping Him. When I do that, all else lines up into its proper place on my priority list.