There are really only three basic world views in
life. Before I proceed, I want to clarify that I am speaking about the culture/world we live in per se’. These three are hedonism, which is the desire for pleasure, second is materialism,
which is about possessions, and lastly– narcissism, which is about pride, possessions, status — "I’m all that’s important". These viewpoints are not a twenty first century phenomenom. They were written about thousands of years ago. In fact,
God talked about them in 2 John 2:16 "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."
These are
the three basic temptations that satan has been using since the history of
mankind started. Back with Adam the
three temptations. Jesus was tempted the
same three ways. The key word in
hedonism is "to indulge" — if it feels good do it. The key word in materialism is
"increase" — get all you can, can all you get. The key phrase in narcissism is "to
impress" — I’m all that matters.
You need to
use the mind God gave you. Don’t
automatically buy into everything you see, everything you hear, every idea
that’s promoted on television or radio or whatever. Question, challenge, properly assess popular
opinion. Does it make sense or not?
you watch a tv show ask yourself, What are the suppositions behind this
show? What values are being promoted
here?
Thessalonians 5:21-22 "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all evil."
Sometimes
people say, "If I became a real believer does that mean I have to put my
mind on a shelf and have to accept everything blindly?" Absolutely not! Who do you think gave you your mind in the
first place? God did. The Christian life is the most rational,
logical way to live. If it wasn’t — if
I didn’t believe it was — I wouldn’t do it. I’m not about to put my mind on the shelf. If you think it through, the true believer
thinks through to the end result and says, "What is the end result of living
for pleasure? What is the end result of
living just for possessions? What is the
end result of just living for yourself?" He sees through it all. He sees
the fallacy and sees its emptiness. It’s
a dumb way to live. The Bible
says use your mind, evaluate, test everything. Don’t automatically accept what the world says.
In reality, for Christ followers there is only one worldview and it is known as a biblical worldview. Everything in our lives should be viewed and evaluated through the lens of God’s Word. Take time today and honestly review what you are living for and what drives your decisions. You might be surprised!