James 4:4 – “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (scriptures KJV).
Do we want to be an enemy of God?
It is not a good thing if everyone likes or loves us. If we find that we are well-liked by everyone, then we should be aware that this is actually a good indicator or sign of where we are at spiritually. In essence, we should not want to be well-liked and to be friends with everyone. Jesus told His followers that they would be hated by the world, and the Bible is clear that friendship of the world is enmity with God. We are not to love the world or the things in this world either. If we do, then the love of the Father is not in us.
John 15:18 — “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”
1 John 2:15 – “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Whenever a celebrity dies, the world fawns, grieves, and mourns over this person as if they knew them personally. Guess what? If we were to meet a ‘celebrity/idol’ in person, they would more than likely snub us or, at the very least, barely acknowledge our presence with a non-personal autograph and maybe reluctantly take an awkward selfie or snapshot with us; then they would shuttle off to be on their way, never to think about us again. So, why waste our time ‘swooning and crying’ over a fallible human being just like us? – who, in fact, is no more important than we are. Many of them could probably care less about us other than our cash and idolatry of them, which perpetuates their fame and fortune.
John 15:19 “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
That celebrity may have done a lot of philanthropic work with various charities and performed many achievements in their life here on this earth, but the more pressing question is, did they come to a True Saving Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ before their time ended?
Matthew 7:20 “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
People often think they will go to Heaven because they were a ‘good person.’ The Bible says all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We can never be good enough; God’s Righteous Standards are too high for us to ever meet on our own! We need Jesus and His Righteousness to have access to God the Father and to enter Heaven! Turn away from the world, the devil, the flesh, celebrity idols, idolatry, and all the things of this world! Turn only to Jesus Christ! Nothing and no one in this world will ever be worth losing your soul over!
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Bottom line, we are to be in the world but not of it. We are to be set apart. The Ekklesia (the Church) are the ‘Called Out Ones.’ We are to be separate. We are to be Holy as He is Holy. We are not to conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are not to be friends with the world, for this is enmity with God. Choose wisely.
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Until next time… Maranatha!
(JESUS = WAY, TRUTH, LIFE)