The Bible tells us that to a be a friend of God we need to be an 'enemy' of the world. James 4:4 calls us adulterers and adulteresses if we are friends with the world. This is a serious thing indeed....to be called and adulterer/adulteress.
I wonder what it means to make the world my enemy. I don't think the Lord would want me to live in a cave or stay in a castaway island without shopping malls,TV, work, family,shopping, responsibilities etc. I think Jesus would want me to live in the world the way He did. His heart was not in the world, it did not belong to the world, it did not beat with the pulse of the world, it did not entertain the attractions of the world. Everyday in His quiet time with His dear Father, He left the world behind and put His heart in the palms of God's hands....I believe that this is letting go of the world. To live a life with our heart consecrated and set apart; in the inner recesses of our soul and our being knowing that we belong to Him and Him alone!
O if we only know the wonderful position of being called a friend of God! We would gladly give up our position as friends with the world!
James 4:4 "...Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God"
Truly as the scripture says, there are times when I really do not know that I am making myself an enemy of God. So often when I let the cares of the world come to me or when the tide of envy rises in me for my neighbor's new volvo or nicer condo, the desire for the things of God seems to slip away from me.
To be a friend of God, we need to let go of the world. This means letting go of the cares of this world, the lusts of the world and the wisdom of the world.
The cares of this world concerns what we will eat, what we will put on and an anxious mind. Luke 12:29-31 "And don't be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don't worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows what you need. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need"(NLT)
The lusts of the world concerns godless living and sinful pleasures. "And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God" Titus 2:12 (NLT)
The wisdom of this world concerns behavior/thought patterns that are fashioned after our fleshly desires. An example of this is found in 1 Cor 2:3-4 "for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't this prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like the people of the world? When one of you say, "I am a follower of Paul", and another say, "I follow Apollos" aren't you acting just like the people of the world?" (NLT)
There is only one way to let go of the world and that is to make the journey to the heart of God for that face to face encounter with Him on a daily basis. When we are face to face with God, all else will fade away in a distance, all else will pale in comparison, the world and all its lusts thereof will pass away, only the reality of God exists.
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