It is common to hear someone exclaim, “I love ____ (coffee, ice cream, football, fill in the blank). I have never heard a Christian say, “I love the world.” However, as much as we don’t want to love the world or the things in it, I am confident that to varying degrees we all do. (Hint: even if you don’t say what you love, watch how you spend your time.)

I passionately desire to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). Just think, the more we love Jesus, the One Who died for us, the less we love other things, to include self and the world.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).