Nothing New

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” 1 John 2:15-16

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” These famous words were penned by King Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. When Solomon wrote this statement, he emphasized the cyclic nature of human life on earth and the emptiness of living for an endless, self-defeating, pointless pursuit. 

The cravings for physical pleasure, physical things, and personal achievement are nothing new. They are as old as time itself. All the way back to the Garden of Eden when mankind was first tempted to rebel against God, we find those same three temptations. 

When the serpent approached Eve and tempted her to eat the fruit of the only tree forbidden by God so that “her eyes would be opened,” Eve was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful (the craving for things we see) and its fruit looked delicious (the craving for physical pleasure), and she wanted the wisdom it would give her (pride in personal achievements). Eve gave in and Adam followed suit. And just like that, sin separated man from God. 

We live in the same world and face these same temptations thousands of years later because there is truly nothing new under the sun. But John tells us not to love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. The love of the Father rises above the same old, same old, draws a line in the sand, and says no to those things that would separate us from Him.