Mensa Otabil - Things In the World (10/18/2025)
First John chapter 2, verse 16: For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father, but is of the world. What the world calls love is not compatible with what God calls love. So John zeroes in on what he calls the things of the world, and he lists three areas where the things of this world manifest. He talks about these three as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
The operative word I want you to note is «lust.» Lust is very different from love. Lust is desiring something for the pleasure of yourself alone. In Christianity, we desire something not just for our pleasure but for God’s pleasure and also for the benefit of the person we desire it for. So Christianity is living for God and to be a blessing to others, whereas the world says just do it all for yourself. You are your own god; you are the center-your pleasure, your desires. He talks about the lust of the flesh. The lust of the flesh is lust, which has its seed in our fleshly desires, or what people call the animalistic desires of men. It is chiefly found in love for food and love for sex.
John focuses on the pleasure that is physical and sensual; it makes you feel good but does nothing to advance the kingdom of God and doesn’t honor God. It just makes you feel good. If all you’re doing in your life is living to feel good, you’re not pleasing God. That seems to be the ethic of our modern world: just do whatever feels good. Treat yourself well; please yourself. It may sound like a nice cliché, but it’s not biblical. In the Bible, we please God, not ourselves.
So he talks about the lust of the flesh, and then he talks about the lust of the eyes. This is simply desiring the things you see; that is where greed comes in. You see it, and you must get it. It’s on TV, it’s in magazines, it’s on social media. «I love that shoe! I love that shirt! I love that blouse!» We are so driven by what we see; our eyes lust for everything they see, and that is not of the Father. It’s not of the Father; it’s of this world. This doesn’t mean Christians should not be ambitious or have desires, but we have to be careful where the things we see drive us. We should not always be pushing to get what we have seen with our eyes.
Then he talks about the pride of life. This is just the desire to be the chief among everybody-everybody must be beneath you; you must be on top of everyone else. It’s good to aspire to be great, but Jesus says if you aspire to be great, then you have to serve other people. In Christianity, we don’t become great by pulling others down; we become great by serving people, by loving people, and by being kind to others.
These three temptations were all offered to the Lord Jesus Christ: the lust of the flesh-Satan told Him to just feed His flesh, «Turn stones to bread»; the lust of the eyes-he showed Him the kingdoms of the world and said, «You can have it»; and the pride of life-"Just throw yourself down, and God will deliver you.» Jesus overcame all of these three. He shows us that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are not how we should live our lives. Jesus is our example. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve fell for these sins, but Jesus overcame and gave us an example of how to live to please the Father. I trust each one of us will be committed to that.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I surrender my flesh, my eyes, and pride to You. Let me only do that which pleases You. In Jesus' name, Amen.» I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.