Not all love is created equal

“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.”

1 John 2:15-16 ESV YouVersion Bible link

Love is a choice.

It is a decision that one consciously makes. It is acting for one option to the exclusion of another. Love is associated with desire in a way that illustrates this choice. Though the two concepts are closely intertwined (as these verses highlight) desire and pride can be separated from love through humility—which is the rejection of pride. Anything of the world that we can see or touch or think about falls under this command to “not love.” While these two verses do bring up a variety of questions, they still remain packed with meaning. The Great Commandment in Matthew 22:37-39 also continues this illustration of choosy-love.

“Can’t we love God and the world at the same time?”

Aren’t Christians called to love, yet these two verses say not to? Also, didn’t God create the world? So why does he call for us to not love it? Can’t we love both God and the world at the same time?
The short answer is “Nope.”

Perhaps a better understanding of love, the world, God the Father, desire, and pride will help to answer these questions. To “not love” is not the same as hate and it would be a mistake to consider love to be the opposite of hate. God hates sin—which is the result of wickedness and evil—because sin is the willful disobedience of God’s desires. (see Does God Hate?) It’s funny how even the word sinful is often associated with desires even though having desire is not sinful in and of itself. What would not-sinful desires look like? They would be faithful and obedient desires. Those are two words commonly associated with servitude. That points to God desiring a faithful servant who is obedient to his will. To truly accomplish that level of obedience, we must desire to do his will through humility. There are no prideful servants. When we achieve this, it becomes apparent that God desires that we desire him.

“There are no prideful servants”

Not all love is created equal

Far from it, actually. Love for the things that God has created insults the Creator. Love for the Creator is the ultimate praise any person can give to God. So what about all the other amazing stuff he made in this world?
I think we can appreciate it. We can use it as tools. We can be productive. But when we treasure worldly things and hoard them away and pile them up in protected storehouses—then that becomes the reason for these two Scripture verses: We are being warned from perverting the beauty of what God has created for us to enjoy.

Any relationship that has ever been destroyed has been done so through pride. Ask the controlling mother or father who refuses to apologize to their child. Or consider the resentful sibling who no longer wishes to see their brother or sister because they feel unjustly wronged. Perhaps there is an offended spouse who holds tightly to their personal beliefs while refusing to admit any personal error. If we are being truthful, the stealthy destroyer of relationships is pride. It is a wedge that seeps between the cracks like water and freezes over—expanding just enough to split things apart. It is the unstoppable juggernaut most people never see until it is already upon them and it is too late. Pride is only defeated through humility. This means we need to approach God with humility if we want to preserve our relationship with Him. God specifically requires this of us. Not only that, it becomes obvious that every relationship in our life needs humility. When this becomes the ultimate goal—the ultimate desire—then all the other relationships in our life then become opportunities for us to practice our humility so that when we stand before God, we have nothing left to be proud of.

“God is very jealous and he will not share us. He wants us for himself—for his own good pleasure.”

Humility you can be proud of

Having nothing left to be proud of is not the same as shame. Shame is something else. Approaching God in humility makes us vulnerable to our Creator because we know we have nothing to hide, and no way to hide even if we tried. When we can finally become thankful for the true love God has shown to us despite our sinful natures, then we have just scratched the surface of the mercy God expresses to us through his grace. He does not like to share our love for him with the world. That’s why we can’t love the world and God at the same time. God is very jealous and he will not share us. He wants us for himself—for his own good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

God’s jealousy is a divine and righteous jealousy that looks nothing like the sinful, prideful, arrogant, and perverted jealousy of man. While we are jealous of others and want what they have or what we can take from them, God is jealous for us and it pleases him to receive our undivided love. It is because of his jealousy for us that we get to experience the true love that God has for us. It is the feeling of being pursued. When we start to love the things of this world, we are spurning his love and casting him aside—ultimately rejecting God in our lives.