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. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. – 1 John 2:15-16, KJV

One of the things I do for a living is teach real estate classes. Students must learn a ton of information in order to pass the class, but of all the things they have to learn, the meanings of the real estate terms are the most important. Just like a person must learn the meanings of words before they can understand the language the words articulate, our students must understand the meanings of the real estate terms before they can grasp the concepts the terms communicate.

The same is true when it comes to understanding biblical principles. So often we read the Bible and fail to understand the depths of its meaning because we don’t understand the definitions of the words we are reading. Take the terms “lust of the flesh,” “lust of the eyes,” and “pride of life” found in 1 John 2:15-16. If you don’t take the time to understand what these terms mean, then the lesson of the passage is hard to grasp.

According to the Amplified Bible, the “lust of the flesh” means “craving for sensual gratification.” “Sensual” means “relating to, devoted to, or producing physical or sexual pleasure” or “relating to or consisting in the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of appetite.” In other words, “if it feels good do it,” and if you live by this mantra (as so many do), then you are under the spell of the world, not the control of the Holy Spirit.

The “lust of the eyes” means “greedy longings of the mind.” Do you find yourself obsessed (unable to think about anything else) with your next purchase of stuff? Are you depressed by the fact that you don’t have everything your friends do? Do you constantly dream of having more, more, more, never content with what you have? If so, your mind is stayed on earthly treasures and not on God, which is why you are discontent with life rather than at perfect peace. If you are constantly, greedily coveting those things which you don’t have, you are under the spell of the world, not the control of the Holy Spirit.

The “pride of life” means the “assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things.” When things get tough, who or what do you turn to? Do you trust in your own intellect to solve every problem? Do you trust in your bank account to buy your way out of trouble? Do you look to other people to bail you out of a jam? Relying on human wisdom and power will only get you so far, and sooner or later there will come times in your life when neither will be enough to rescue you. If you trust in the security of this world, you are under the spell of the world, not the control of the Holy Spirit.

If we are honest with ourselves, we are all guilty of being under the world’s spell to some degree. Our challenge is to recognize this and to correct it by saturating our minds not with the things of this world, but with the things of God. When we do, God will reward us both here on Earth and there in Heaven, making both our temporal and eternal lives so much more fulfilling than we could ever make them on our own.