Don't Flirt with the World

UV 430/10,000 James 4 v 4 Don’t flirt with the world Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. If we are truly a Friend of God, we will live as strangers and pilgrims in this world. Our bodies are the tents of our soul, our homes are not our permanent residences. Flirting with the world is the equivalent of adultery. The world has topsy-turvy standards, where right is wrong and wrong is right. The citizens of a particular nation exhibit what is known as national character. For instance, the Japanese are hardworking and patriotic, the Germans are disciplined and industrious, the Americans are creative and inventive. Similarly, the citizens of the Kingdom of God called out of all nations and people should exhibit a consistent character of love for God, purity of thought, contentment, wisdom and humility. When we flirt with the world and its systems, we are feeding the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life that deceive us into sin and harden our hearts against God. We can discern the truth of God’s Word when we recognize along with economists and leaders that the recent ongoing recession was actually caused by human greed or lust of the flesh. People including many church leaders influenced by the global capitalist system only want to possess more and more. The love for God has grown cold. The Word of God warns us that adultery is like stacking burning coal on one’s lap. We are called to live contented lives but instead , we live contentious lives. . To be a Friend of God implies that we should subject ourselves willingly and joyfully to the requirements of the Law or the Word of God. As oil and water cannot mix, we cannot mix with the standards and priorities of the world. We must constantly feed ourselves with the Word and purify ourselves of the spirit of compromise with the world. We must take in prayer the matters of the world to the Lord and communicate the matters of the Lord to the world. Prateep V Philip