The mindset of the world

“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.” 1 John 2:16
In today’s verse, John gives us three characteristics that describe the mindset of the world. In other translations, they are called ‘the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life’. Think about the conversations you have with unsaved friends and workmates. They tend to focus around one or more of these topics. People can talk for hours about food and wine – because for them, the bodily needs are uppermost. They talk about how seeing beautiful things and beautiful people makes them feel. And they boast about what they have and what they have done – having a successful career, a fantastic holiday, etc.
However for the child of God, who has been born again by His Spirit and is no longer subject to serving their bodily needs, it is now the spirit that is uppermost in their life. We should not be living in this way, chasing after the things that the world chases after.
It’s interesting to note that Satan tempted Eve in these three ways also. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food [lust of the flesh] and pleasing to the eye [lust of the eyes], and also desirable for gaining wisdom [the pride of life], she took some and ate it” (Gen. 3:6). Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. He will still try to make you ineffective in your Christian walk by making you jealous of the people of this world who are ‘successful’, and get you chasing after those things instead of what you should be pursuing: God, His Kingdom and His righteousness – about which Jesus said, if we seek Him first, all the other things will be given to us as well (Matt. 6:33).