¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

God has graciously given us good things in the world to sustain us and for us to enjoy. This makes life a bit more bearable. These things, however, should never be allowed to draw us away from doing God’s will—to follow him wholeheartedly and to serve him. In other words, if in the name of advancing your career—attaining good academic grades and climbing the corporate ladder, you neglect the things of God, you have crossed God-set boundaries.

You have loved the world. And if you love the world, God’s Word clearly warns you: “love for the Father is not in them” (1 John 2:15). This means that you show that you do not love God, and neither will bless you, that is, you should not expect to live in God’s favour—God will not bless the labour of your hands. You will not have the powerful and peaceable presence of God in your life.

I am troubled by people who do not make effort or prioritise time to attend to the various means of grace, that is, means by which God feeds our precious soul and strengthens our inner-person. This includes Sunday School classes, Sunday Worship service, and cell-group/fellowship meetings. I understand that many of you sincerely desire to attend the various spiritual meetings but could not due to legitimate reasons. I also understand that the pace of life is so fast that we could barely breathe. My heart goes out to you, dear brother and sister-in-Christ. Only you truly feel and understand your own struggles. That said, however, please be sure that your reasons are sincere, and do not come from our sinful nature or because you regard them as unimportant. The fact is: they are critical for your spiritual health and are systems set up by the Lord, not humans. Leaders often struggle with urging Christians to be faithful in attending these meetings without sounding pushy lest we discourage you or we become an annoyance to you. But deep in our hearts, we are very concerned for your spiritual health. To focus on your physical and material needs and neglect your soul, is like throwing away a diamond ring and keeping the exquisite box that contained the diamond ring. Your soul is hungry, but your soul is like a sick baby that lacks strength to cry out loud to attract your attention. The little baby (your soul), however, is getting weaker by the day. When you are aware that it is sick, it would be too late—that baby is near death; your world will collapse because you starved your soul to death. Just because your soul cannot make a crying noise does not mean it is well. I urge you, dear child of God, feed your soul. Your body needs food and rest, but so does your soul. You neglect it to your peril. I urge you: make time and prioritise time to attend Sunday School and Worship Service.

My heart’s desire is that the Lord bless you in every way, and more so your precious soul which is eternal. If you are not a Christian, you have a soul that lives forever. You will enter eternity and your soul will either live in heaven or in hell. Where are you going after you die? Your soul needs the life of God. If not, it will never be at peace or be happy. Give your soul the food it needs so urgently. Give your soul eternal life—the life of Jesus.