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.

We need to be vigilant and be discerning because the world is constantly exerting its influence on us. It is like a press machine that uses pressure to press a metal into the desired shape. Whether or not you are aware that it is exerting its influence on you, you are what you are today because of the world. Thus, everyone’s hairstyle is more or less similar. We wear clothes that belong to today’s fashion and not the Victorian style or the Qing dynasty fashion. We too speak the same language and like things that are more similar than different. The world exerts its good influences on us. It does, however, also exert its many bad influences on us. God’s Word instructs us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2a).

Many bad influences have crept into our personal, family, and even church life. It is no longer an uncommon thing where unmarried men and women live and sleep together in the same room before getting married. “Homosexuals have their rights,” so the world says, “and we should give them freedom” to engage in same sex acts and marriage. The truth is, the world is actually asking people to give homosexuals a license to do sinful things and things that contradict nature. “Liberate your animal nature. Do what makes you feel good,” the world advocates, “and throw away the traditional moral values. They are outdated.” “Pride is alright. Greed is natural too. These attitudes motivate us to work hard.” But after these many years, have these mindsets, which contradict God’s Word, made the world a better place? The answer is very clear: this world is in a mess; families are broken; people feel empty in their lives. The church is not spared too. Instead of bringing the church to the world, the church has brought the world into the church. Rock and pop music have replaced hymns and songs that are informed by biblical and godly theology. In the place of godly hymns and songs are the so called Christian songs that are deficient in important theological themes, and sometimes ear blasting music. On a personal and subjective level, when I hear these songs, I sometimes mistake them to be either secular rock songs or romantic music. Paul instructs us to “let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Col. 3:16). The lyrics of songs and hymns must have one ingredient: “the message of Christ,” that is, God’s Word. This is one important reason why this church sings traditional hymns: they are rich in God’s Word and contain good theology that can feed our souls. Some church settings and lightings feel like a rock or pop music concert. “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5b). This is good theology that should guide our church life and even its physical settings. Parents’ main responsibility is to bring up children to fear the Lord (Deut 6:6-7). It is not that Christian parents are unaware of this command. Rather, because the world emphasises academic importance, and threatens us, saying, our children cannot survive without academic excellence. Christian parents have bought this lie and worldly mindset. The sad consequence that I saw in some families are: their children do well in the world, but they are lost for eternity. I have seen some parents weep over their children’s eternal destiny. Alas, it is too late because they are past the age where their hearts are malleable to God. The world is continually pressing its godless values on us. It is critical that you resist this tide of godlessness so that your soul and the souls of your loved ones may live in safety. I urge you, know God’s Word. Hunger for God’s Word. Then you will find strength to resist the world and wisdom to discern its deceptions and do what is blessed.