Living for Jesus, By Sarah P.

Living for Jesus

By Sarah P.

It is hard to live in this world as a Christian. Because of our beliefs, we constantly have to go against the crowd and against popular opinion. Haven’t all of us given into temptation before and just followed everybody else? The Bible warns us not to follow the crowd by loving things of this world.
“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 lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17
What do “things of this world” qualify as? In this scripture, they are,”…the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,”. Lust and pride are both sins. If you think about it, these two things of the world apply to most temptations. For example, why would you steal something? You probably coveted (or lusted after) it. Why would you do something wrong under peer pressure? You were obviously too prideful to lose face in front of your friends. Both pridefulness and lust are worldly behaviors, and both are also sins.
Many different things can lead to these two worldly behaviors. More importantly, choices we make can put us into a situation where we are tempted to act worldly. These choices are never wise-like going to a party where you know there will be trouble, or constantly surfing the internet to find inappropriate sites. These decisions affect us, and they put us in a vulnerable position for when temptation comes knocking at the door. Choosing to avoid these traps help our witness, our relationship with God, and our relationships with others.
When we let ourselves give into these temptations over and over, they become our top priority in life. If we let worldly behaviors into our lives, they can become idols to us. An idol is anything you worship other than God. When we become addicted to worldly things, they become idols to us. Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” God wants our top priority in life to be Him.
Christians are supposed to live for God and focus on God-pleasing things, as Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.” When we focus on worldly things such as lust and pride, we are not living for Jesus. So don’t let the things of this world hold you back! Remember to live solely for Jesus-He’s worth it!