On the subject of food, apparently some people were forbidding others to eat certain food; not for health reasons but for spiritual reasons. Paul opposes the “. . . abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:2–3, ESV). So I can eat food and conform to a worldly ideal. Or I can eat food with thankfulness. It’s all about how I do it. So Paul amplifies this: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4–5, ESV).
So how does this work? Should you desire a healthy body? Of course! But maybe not! If your desire for health does not include a purpose that is for the sake and the glory of God, it is worldly. To desire an education apart for the sake and the glory of God is worldly. The Psalmist puts it in the right way:
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I
desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25–26, ESV)
That phrase “besides you” reminds me of the First Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3, AV). John Piper, in his unique manner says it this way: “. . . If you love God with all your heart, then every room you enter will be a temple of love to God, all your work will be a sacrifice of love to God, every meal will be a banquet of love with God, and every song will be an overture of love to God.” To love, to crave, to have an intimate friendship with the things of this world is essentially idolatry.
Since the Fall of mankind, Satan has incited human beings to misuse what God has created by using things for their own selfish pleasure and not in the manner that pleases God. Christians have been rescued from that perception therefore it is inconsistent with our new life to love those former passions, befriend them or be conformed to them.
Christians remain in the world, but their attitude to the things of the world is diametrically opposed to those who are yet unsaved. The amazing grace of God enables a Christian to glorify God in even the most mundane of worldly activities (“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV). Even the use and treatment of the body can be done in a Christ-magnifying way (“for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, ESV). Finally, all things that God provides for us in this world can be used in an other-worldly way (Confirm: 1 Timothy 4:2-5).
Uses of this Doctrine
1. We must be warned of a type of neo-gnosticism[1] that views the things of this world as inherently evil. Are there some immoral, evil elements in this world? Yes. Pornography, adultery, pedophilia, etc. are evil, but they are perversions of what is good.
2. The sin of all humanity is to take what God has created for our good and make it our god. “When a good thing becomes a god-thing, it becomes a bad thing.” (Mark Driscoll).
3. For Christians, to be in the world and not of the world is to exist (temporarily) as a transient in this domain, but to live life in accordance with our heavenly citizenship.
Summary
How we respond to the things of the world defines worldliness. This diagram is an attempt to describe that:
Previous Blogs on this Subject:
Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 1
Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 2
Don't Let Water Get In Your Boat - Part 3
[1]
Gnosticism was an ancient heresy that believed among many things that the
created world was evil. For example they
could not accept God in Christ, in human form, for anything earthy was
evil. For more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism.
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