The Shroud Over Our Hearts That Is Called Worldliness

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Before we get to today’s article, I just want to mention that am writing from the perspective of a man that has experienced many of the challenges of which I write…. and those spiritual battles continue daily. The articles are implications of what it means to obey the commandment to raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. They require some reflection and are particularly for Christians who, as Peter would say, are diligently seeking to confirm their calling and are making every effort to supplement their faith. Said more succinctly, serious Christians. If you know other believers who desire to walk more faithfully with the Lord, please forward an article to them and tell them to sign up for future articles. Thanks so much!

Most Christians seem to have some idea about worldliness, but I have often found that when I bring it up, I get a quizzical look in return. If you were to ask your everyday man on the street for the meaning, he might say that a person who is worldly is a person who has had many life experiences that have made him sophisticated and wise. That is not what the Bible is means when it talks about being worldly, or worldliness. So, what is worldliness according to the Bible and what application might that have in my daily life?

First, we need to see how the Bible uses the word, “world”, and you will get a sense of where we are going when we talk about worldliness. Here are the first two passages where the meaning of the word denotes an actual geographical area or the physical earth that we live on.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world (Romans 1:8).

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world (Romans 1:20).

But, now take a careful look at the use of the word in the next two passages and you will see that the same word now represents the kind of believing and thinking that belongs to an unbeliever. It is the kind of mindset that does not belong to the born again Christian.

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back againto the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? (Galatians 4:9).

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2).

In fact, the Christian person’s mind that still thinks like the world (unbelievers) cannot be a true Christian. What? How can I make that kind of crazy over the top statement? Because God said it:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17)

You see, the desires of the Christian are antithetical to the desires of the world and the worldly thinking that dominates this fallen planet. We used to think that way (prior to being saved), but we no longer think that way. Worldly people don’t love Christ, nor do they want to know or obey His commandments. Christians do!

Am I saying that a person who has any worldly thoughts or behaves in a worldly way cannot be a Christian? No, what the apostle John is proclaiming in his letters to the church is a warning against a pattern of life that defines a person as a world lover.

Hopefully, you are with me so far but now this might start to get a little more “in your grill.” I say that because I am going to press the point a bit further and you may not think this is about you… but it is.

I have met and observed so many professing Christians that are so in love with this world you would not even know that they are Christians. They think like the world (non-Christians) and live their lives like the world, yet say they love Jesus.

They go to church, send their kids to youth group, and maybe even volunteer at church, but how they plan the rest of the week, spend their time, energy, and money, clearly indicates that their life focus is not on the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. And I don’t think that most professing Christians even know that there is a Shroud Over Our Hearts That Is Called Worldliness.

What about specifics? I’m going to get into those specifics in the blog posts that follow so you can examine your own heart on this incredibly serious matter. But if you’d like a sneak preview, you can begin to think about your own life and ask these questions:

What is the thing that brings me the most happiness in life?
What are the top 5 time sucks in my life?
What are my goals for this year?
Do my kids know I love the Bible because they see me reading it throughout the week?
What songs do I play in the car and at home?

At this point, you may be asking, “Who is this guy that is throwing this up in my face? What gives him the right to say these things?”

I’m just a brother in Christ fighting the same sin battles as everyone else and am deeply concerned for the hearts of my fellow believers in Christ.