3 Dangerous Ways to Look at the World

How would you describe this present world? Scripture paints for us a very clear picture of its ominous and dire condition. Aside from being fallen, as we explained from Genesis, this world is also corrupt. 

“Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4).

The corruption that exists in this world is due to the corrupted nature of man and his desire to have his own way. Only through Christ, as His Spirit indwells us, will we experience the peace and purity that the Lord desires for us. We don’t become perfect or sinless when we are saved, but the sin nature is subdued, because we have this powerful promise from Him that sin shall not have dominion over us (Romans 6:14).

“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).

If the world was evil then, then how much more evil is it now? I recall a phrase from a radio program from many years ago which said, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?…the Shadow knows.” The truth is that no one knows. We read:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

This desperately wicked heart that we have has no bounds, and will seek its own way when given the opportunity.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). 

Did you catch that? This world is dark, and darkness, at least biblically speaking, always symbolizes sin and evil. The effects of these spiritual battles taking place above us in the heavenly places somehow seems to have “spilled over” in a sense, and has set a dark pall over this entire world system. Of course it’s completely unseen, yet we can sense it and see its effects upon unredeemed people in particular. Concerning this world, Satan himself is spoken of as the god, and ruler of this world; not sovereignly, because he is not a free agent to do as he pleases, but we do read this interesting statement about him, that explains the power that he yet wields over those who don’t know the Lord:

“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

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In light of the condition of this present world, we tend to make ourselves very comfortable here. And while there are no specific injunctions against having things (aside from pursuing riches, and loving money), we do read of the dangers of worldliness. For this reason, it is important that we retain a proper view of the world. In order to do this, I’d like to reveal three ways in which we should not look at the world. 

When speaking of the world, we’re speaking of that which opposes and is hostile toward Christ and we His people. With that said, to be worldly is to live in such a way as to give devotion to or otherwise place oneself in alignment with those ways and practices that are contrary to life in Christ.

Do you recall the story of Abram and Lot? As Abram departed Egypt with all he had, Scripture relates that he was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold. His nephew Lot, who was with him, also had flocks, herds, and tents. Because of this, as they travelled, contention arose between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen. In order to end the strife, Abram suggests that they separate from one other. We pick up this event here:

“’Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.’  Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company” (Genesis 13:9-11).

1. The Lingering Look

We need to first establish that Lot was a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7). Throughout Scripture, and in the Old Testament in particular, this means that Lot, like Abram, believed God; this faith was then accounted to them as righteousness (Galatians 15:6; Galatians 3:6).

You will note now that Lot looks out, surveys the land, and chooses for himself the well-watered, green, and fertile plain of Jordan. What Lot found in Sodom and Gomorrah is a picture and representation of the sin and corruption that is rife in the world. Lot did what we should not do as it pertains to the world. He took a lingering look. What Lot did would be the equivalent of any one of us looking at all the glitz, glamour, power, and prestige that the world offers, and become totally enamored with it.

How many artists who “grew up” in church, have offered their gifts and talents to the world, rather than to the Lord, because of the promise of fame and fortune? That lingering look sees only what is on the surface and nothing of the darkness and pitfalls of what lies beneath. Lot, and all who do so, are setting themselves up for trouble.

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The second shortest verse in the Bible, are the words of Jesus, when He said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). What did He mean? The angels who led Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah warned them after bringing them out, not to look back. We read:

“As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, ‘Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!’” (Genesis 19:17).

The clear warning was that if anyone looked back, they would be consumed—and we know how this turns out.

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26).

Lot’s wife took a longing look. There is every indication that she looked back because she was yearning for what she had left behind. When Jesus spoke of her, he was reminding us of the conditions that will exist when He returns. He said:

“In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back” (Luke 17:31).

The longing look shows that there are yet ties that have not been broken, or bridges that have not been burned with the old life. For us, this does not mean that our salvation is somehow lost. But it does mean that we need to make a clean break with what once was. Though the call of the world can be strong, we must remember the words of an old standard: The world behind me, the Cross before me, I won’t turn back. Let’s avoid the longing look.

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Each time we see the name of Demas, we are told that he was a fellow laborer with Paul the apostle. What a privilege that must have been! Yet, at some point, all was not well with him. Paul the apostle, knowing that his own death was imminent, pens some of the saddest words he ever wrote when he said:

“For Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia” (2 Timothy 4:10).

What more can be said? Demas had a loving look. He turned his back on Paul, on his ministry, and more importantly, on the Lord—all because he had an unhealthy relationship with the world. He loved it. This is inevitable when we take our eyes off of Christ.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15).

Avoiding these looks will save us the pain and heartache that will ensue if we go in the direction of the world. Knowing that making ourselves a friend of this world system makes us an enemy of God, should be enough to propel us into His arms where we are sure to find peace, rest, and security.

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