As believers, we are called to live in this world, but not of it. The world today is overseen and run by its master, the Devil. Believers are really out of place here, as we don’t ‘fit in’ to the system organized to destroy a man’s soul. Our bondage to the Devil’s control was broken the day we trusted Christ for salvation. He is no longer our master, and we don’t have to fall to his temptations.

In Christ, we are now empowered to live our lives loving and serving Him. The attractions that had once consumed our hearts, are now seen with disdain, realizing that there is only pleasure in sin for a season. God has blessed us with an active conscience that makes the guilt of indulging in sin take much of the enjoyment out of the activity. Sin no longer has the same appeal; it now has a bitter aftertaste.

The apostle John wrote of this in…

1 John 2:15 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.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

John identified the components in the world that make it unacceptable for the believer. The world system controlled by Satan includes the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

That which our flesh craves, along with the inappropriateness our eyes desire, are ways the Devil keeps his ‘flock’ under control. The world is so busy chasing its desires, it has no time to consider what God could do for them.

It is no wonder the Devil hates God so much. God made a way for man to escape the Devil’s firm grip. No longer does man have to remain a slave to his every whim. Jesus’ victory over death and the grave made it possible that we can live victorious lives, free from his coercion.

The life of victory that Christ has made possible for us is accessed by faith. We must choose it. Our flesh will still crave the excitement of the Devil’s world, so we must decide who we really want to love. Loving the world is submitting one’s will to the Devil; a life just like all the unsaved, hopelessly bound in sin. Loving the Lord is choosing to find our ‘excitement’ in Him.

The Devil loves to tell believers that by following Christ you will have to give up all your fun and enjoyment. Like always, the Devil lies. There is no greater satisfaction and joy than that found loving God and submitting to His will.

Let’s choose to love the Lord, and finally break free from the slimy hold the world had on us.