Love God, period

Sunday’s sermon was about enjoying all that God gives us. Afterwards, we had lunch with friends that included a Mile High Mud Pie chocolate dessert. We joked that we would blame the five pounds we no doubt gained on the pastor’s sermon.

Of course the Holy Spirit would never let me get away with that. Any indulgence in food, particularly a dessert that I don’t need, goes beyond borderline. Even though the Bible does say that God blesses us, it also says that we are not to use His blessings in a sinful way. Today’s devotional reading makes that clear.

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. (1 John 2:15-17)

The cravings of sinful man refers to desires for sinful pleasure. This is not about being hungry and eating good food. Instead, it is indulging in that second helping, or that chocolate pie that I do not need. These cravings can be for other things, all excesses included.

The lust of the eyes refers to covetousness or materialism. This is about wanting everything that I can see. This year, a friend and I are holding each other accountable concerning how we spend our money. Necessities are okay; unneeded extras are not. I report to her when I cave in (about three times so far), but also think of her every time I am tempted. This has been good for both of us. Sometimes it helps to have the Holy Spirit with skin on.

The pride of life refers to being proud about one’s position in this world, about having stuff as well as having a good reputation, being popular, achievements, etc. While it is not wrong to rejoice when good things happen, it is wrong to pridefully think that “I did it” without giving God the glory. Apart from Him, I cannot do anything.

These are good reminders. God wants me to love Him as a demonstration of the eternal life He has given me. Life in this world is temporary and all that I know and do will one day pass away. At the same time, He does say to enjoy His blessings.

However, this isn’t about balance or walking a fine line or even priorities. The Bible is clear that loving God is a black and white issue. My heart belongs to Him, or not. That means I need to watch my attitude toward things like food, possessions, and pride.

This is practical. I want to lose weight, but it isn’t going to happen if I give in to the desires of my sinful flesh. I want to clear the extras out of my house, but that isn’t going to happen if I yield to materialism and the desire to have or hoard all my stuff. I also want to do well in every endeavor, but if I abuse success with sinful pride, those goals may be thwarted by my loving God who would rather I didn’t sin. I can depend on His help to obey this command. At the same time I need to be determined to love Him totally, rather than love the world or anything in it.