A Friend to the World
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’?” (James4:4-5)
“Friendship with the world”. This world is what you know. It’s what you can see, hear, and touch. So it is very natural to love this world we live in. It doesn’t take much to set our eyes and mind on the things of this world. Social media, news, politics, culture, world events, etc. It’s all designed to keep you focused on yourself. One individual said, “If you agree with that idea [befriending the world], we become unfaithful to the Lord.” We are choosing this world over the Lord. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Friendship with the world is like trying to maintain a relationship with a friend who doesn’t show you any attention. This world wants nothing to do with you. It only wants your attention enough to fulfill it’s own agenda.
God yearns jealously over the spirit He gifted to us. Exodus 20:5 tells that He is a jealous God. In so much that if we give our attention to someone else, it grieves Him. That’s how much He desires a relationship with us. Psalm 42:1-2 states, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God...” Because of who He is and what He’s done for us, we should have the same desire for Him. The Spirit of God is in us (Romans 8:11). The Holy Spirit cries to God from within (Galatians 4:6). As Jesus referred to His Father as ‘Abba’ (which means Daddy), so we should view Him in that personal, intimate way.
When we focus our attention on anything other than the One who died for us, who put His Spirit within us, that’s how we grieve Him. It saddens Him. It provides Him sorrow. May we strive today, and here on out to continue to set our mind on the things above, not on the things of this earth (Colossians 3:1-2). May we continue to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), so that all we desire is a deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father and fall more in love with Him! Nothing in this world can satisfy us more than God’s love for us!
