Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15 HCSB
While living in Missouri and working for the Missouri Baptist Convention, my family and I lived in a home on a small lake. We had a small flat bottom boat and my boys and I enjoyed fishing from the boat and from our dock. To catch fish we would use a variety of bait. Sometimes it was worms and other times we used balls of bread. At other times we used lures that looked like small fish. The lures were designed to attract the fish and deceive them into thinking the lure was a meal.
The things that belong to the world are nothing but lures. They seem to offer fame, fortune, and success that will make us happy, but once we take the “bite” we find out that we have been deceived and what we thought would bring us happiness is nothing more than cotton candy. It tastes sweet for a while but then the pleasure is gone. Only God offers true happiness. The ways of God are in contrast to the ways of the world.
Challenge: Jesus said, “No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.” (Matthew 6:24) Are you being lured by the things of the world? Focus on God and make Him the Master of everything in your life.