Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him; because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.
— 1 John 2:15-16
When a person is young, he is more likely to be ensnared by the material aspect of the world. Before someone owns a house, he thinks a house is what he needs. But after he purchases one, he realizes he is not satisfied, and he wants something else. The things of the world leave people empty. What do they do then? They turn to religion, and the world accommodates them. Whatever people may do in the religious world, they do it in hope of gaining some kind of eternal satisfaction or reward. Because it is not so manifestly empty and worthless, the religious aspect of the world holds people more strongly than the material aspect does.
Many of us in the church life have no desire to pursue the physical things in the world, but can we say the same about the aspect of the world represented by Babel? Don’t just point to those in Christianity; even among us Babel has found a place. Oh, the attraction of having a position, or a name, or influence in the religious sphere! This is really in our blood. Everyone confronts these two aspects of the world.
Adapted from The Reality of the Divine Stream, pages 22-23.
Tomorrow: “Living in Babel versus Dying to Ourself”