We’ve been talking about the world, the “cosmos”, and what the Bible has to say about it. John 3:16—“For God so loved THE WORLD” and didn’t send his only son into the world to condemn it, but to SAVE it. However, the same man, John wrote in his epistle that we should “love not THE WORLD.” And so I love the world, but I don’t love it…..another one of the ditches we humans are called to straddle.
But it’s true, I love the world, INTENSELY, but there are some things I really hate. I sat down to think about those things briefly, and I made some lists…
THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THIS WORLD (WITH ALL MY HEART!)
1. I love creation, nature, the great outdoors—mountains, oceans, snow, sunshine, rain, grass, trees, the animals. I love exploring them, examining them close up, reading about them, marveling, experiencing.
2. I love the joy and connectedness experienced in human relationships with family and friends.
3. I love Creativity—art, music, literature, beauty of all kinds.
4. I love sensual pleasure—good food, sexual pleasure, the physical exertion of work and exercise, good smells, breathing fresh air.
5. I love cultural diversity—exploring the customs, food, and way of life of humans very different from me.
And I could go on and on, but those are the ones that flowed right out of my mind. They are all things that were created by God, seemingly for no other purpose than pleasure—His and ours alike. But it was just as easy to come up with another list, things despised.
THINGS I HATE ABOUT THIS WORLD (WITH A VENGEANCE)
1. Conflict in relationships: broken families, broken friendships. Surely nothing else causes as much pain—Cain and Abel in endless repetition.
2. Sickness and disease.
3. Poverty and greed.
4. 21st century hectic lifestyle.
5. Pollution
6. Broken technology
These are all things that have come about because of a fallen world—the side effects of the twistedness that has entered into the good world our Father created.
Neither list is exhaustive, but the writing was a good exercise. The first list creates thankfulness in my heart, and the second one cautions me to beware and to prioritize my life rightly to do my part undo the damage, to right a world gone wrong. What’s on your list?