“… do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” James 4:4
If Satan cannot keep you from salvation, he’ll try to keep you from being an effective Christian. And one of his most successful strategies is distraction. The obvious distractions are easy to identify. But there are also subtle things we may not immediately recognize as harmful. Whatever their form, dangerous distractions entice us to get friendly with something worldly.
Mainstream culture sends the message that you can have God and the world; that’s a lie. Belief in Jesus and in His Word as absolute truth makes the world our enemy. Why? Because He exposes sin and evil for what it is.
The Bible tells us, “that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). For now, God has allowed Satan to operate through unbelieving people. These enemies of God have an agenda—discredit God to the lost and distract the saved. So the enemy tries to draw us away from God using any means necessary, even good things.
One way we see this play out today is constant busyness. Many believers have gotten used to being exhausted. Then there’s the distraction of information overload. Everything in the world—good, bad, or indifferent—is in the palm of our hands 24 hours a day. The more we scroll, the more worldly ideas start to occupy our minds. And if you’re always busy, there’s less time to counter those things with truth by spending time in Scripture, in prayer, and at church.
You see, worldliness appeals to our senses and emotions; especially our affections. We express love through giving. So the world tries to persuade us to give our time, attention, and resources to a system that is anti-God. But, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).
Have you gotten a little too friendly with something from the world? Over the past week, where did you give your time, attention, and resources? Remember, even things that seem good can distract you from what’s best. Anything that draws you away from fellowship with Jesus and from serving Him is harmful. Determine to deal with these dangerous distractions today—quickly and completely.