Friendship with the World

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?

James 4:4

Through the generations the Church has seen three threats against our salvation Satan, self, and society (corresponding to the hard path, the shallow soil, and the thorns of Jesus’ parable respectively).

Nowadays most laugh at the idea of the Devil. A myth, no more. While other generations perhaps gave him too much thought, we give him too little; both errors empower him.

Pop psychology tells us the self is good. Our desires are natural and what is natural is good. Evil is not our fault; rather it is the effect of our genetics, environment, or education. If only man had perfect education, environment, and breading he would be compelled to be good.

Finally, most Christians do not see themselves as strangers and aliens in this world (as Peter declares we are). Many seem to idealize the world. The world is where all pleasure and joy lies (debaucherous sex, drunkenness, etc)—Christianity is simply a negation of those (purity, sobriety, etc). In their idealization of the world many want to live as close to the world as they can without losing their salvation. The heart follows the eyes. The heart, the center of our will, will follow our eyes, our desires. What we long for we will take. If we long for the things of this world we will run after them. The trick is not to have as much of the world as we can without losing our salvation. Rather we should strive to desire good things so that the fulfillment of them will bring us happiness.

You don’t think you can create desires? You think your desires are natural? Is it natural to prefer a Lexus over a Ford? Men make millions to condition our desires by means of advertising. The fact is we live in enemy territory; we live in weedy land. If we do not fight the weeds and thorns they will overcome us. If we do not fight our desires with truth (like the fact that sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death), then we will be overcome by them. This is a fight we can win, but to do so the first step is to recognize that it is indeed a fight.