Wouldn't It Be Nice?

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

John was not saying here that we should not have desires in the world, but that if we put them above our desire for God’s will, we will surely be led astray, at worst, and disappointed, at best, for everything in the world is temporary. In fact, if everything in life were as we desired, how would we grow into the beings God desires for us? Just as some tension in any relationship helps each person grow to be better for one another, the tension between worldly and holy desires exists for the purpose of sanctification – a fancy word that describes the lifelong process of working toward the purification of our souls. The process is rich because the reward is perfect love in Him when we achieve our ultimate home in eternity. We are not expected, then, to attain perfection here on earth, but to rely on Jesus over and over to rescue us from the imperfections and brokenness of this world. Yet our culture is continually sending us messages that if we work hard enough, use social media to our advantage, write a killer resume, invest our money well, get the perfect job, retire young, and act cooperatively with our co-parent – we will be happy. Ask anyone who has done all of that, and you will find that they, too, are disappointed. The world in general is a disappointing place – mostly because it includes other humans like us who are also less than perfect. This is a common sentiment among co-parents who may feel disappointed that their romantic relationship failed, but extra disappointed that leaving the relationship only caused further strife in their co-parenting one.