Not loving the world (1 John 2:15-17)

So I'm reading through 1 John slowly but surely. Well more slowly than surely to be honest! And at the same time, I'm conscious of various sinful attitudes and tendencies in my life.

I was struck earlier in the year by one of Jonathan Edwards' resolutions: to track down the root of every sin in his life. What a helpful way to root out sin in my life! I'm convinced that behind every sinful behaviour lies either a sinful attitude - or a habit which has grown out of a sinful attitude in the past.

1 John 2.15-17 seems to me to list the key sinful attitudes that lie behind so much of my sinful behaviour.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2.15-17 (ESV)

• the desires of the flesh: Putting my physical desires in God's place. What we might call "lust" or "gluttony"?
• the desires of the eyes: Wanting things that we see that we don't yet have: that woman across the office (cf Exodus 20.17); the car that's just a bit plusher or a bit faster than the one I've got; the new gadget. We might normally call it "covetousness".
  
• pride in possessions: Getting my satisfaction from the things I already have (wisdom, might or riches, cf Jeremiah 9:23)- whether I approve of myself because of what I have or others approve of me.

So how do we overcome these attitudes? The answer has to be (as John Piper would say!) "being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus" (plus a good dose of self-control, to overcome the sinful habits in the short term! cf Titus 2.6). Next question: how do I increase my satisfaction in God? My current answer to that is to spend more time meditating on God's glory as displayed in Christ. So to that end, I'm off to search for an appropriate Christian book!

Lust, covetousness and pride all give pleasure in the short term. But God is far more satisfying in the long term (1 John 2.17).