by George Bosworth<\/p>\n
We cannot grow spiritually when we cling to worldliness. Nothing new in that statement! But consider I Corinthians 3:3-4:<\/p>\n
“For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? For whenever one says “I belong to Paul”, and another says “I belong to Apollos”, are you not acting like mere humans?<\/em>“<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Worldliness is identified here with three concepts. If we are engaged in these things, we are not growing spiritually as we could if we repented of them:<\/p>\n
Envy<\/h2>\n
The pursuit of “stuff” (possessions) or “status” will inevitably lead to our giving attention to someone else’s stuff or status. This is unavoidably married to worldliness- we can’t take any of it with us, so spiritually, the stuff is irrelevant at best, and a distraction that leads to sin at worst.<\/p>\n
Strife<\/h2>\n
Perhaps the natural next step from envy, because once you desire that which is another’s, you will start fighting (them) for it. Not being able to live at peace with all men because of your own discontentment is serious indeed.<\/p>\n
Human Identity<\/h2>\n
And a third step into worldliness: Division based upon made-made distinction. The world loves <\/b>to divide: Skin color, income, education, political opinions… we now even invent ridiculous labels, social babble meant to create new ways to define our differences: “I’m not a nerd<\/strong>, I’m a geek<\/strong>!” Who cares about this? Certainly not God. When we are distracted by finding an identity in man’s constructs, we are pursuing something that is objectively meaningless.<\/p>\n
End Envy:<\/strong> Find your value in Christ.<\/p>\n
End Strife:<\/strong> Find your peace in Christ.<\/p>\n
End Division:<\/strong> Find your identity in Christ.<\/p>\n
Nothing else matters.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by George Bosworth We cannot grow spiritually when we cling to worldliness. Nothing new in that statement! But consider I Corinthians 3:3-4: “For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? For whenever one says “I belong to Paul”, and another says “I belong to Apollos”,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[301,583,231,609],"class_list":["post-65421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-division","tag-envy","tag-strife","tag-worldliness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51277,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/worldliness\/","url_meta":{"origin":65421,"position":0},"title":"Worldliness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 2:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From the beginning, Christians have struggled with living in a world of sin without being a part of that world. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul\u2019s struggle - Romans 7:14-25 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some would take Paul\u2019s words and say that as long as I intend to please God, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87643,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/spiritually-minded\/","url_meta":{"origin":65421,"position":1},"title":"Spiritually Minded","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ronny E. Hinds A Christian's greatest need, without exception, is to be spiritually minded. This means the primary focus of life is spiritual matters. It means that every thought and action is controlled by what God wants. This way of thinking always asks, \"Do these thoughts, does this behavior,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55535,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/church-kitchens-and-fellowship-halls\/","url_meta":{"origin":65421,"position":2},"title":"Church Kitchens and Fellowship Halls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Riggs Church buildings with kitchens and fellowship halls are quite common today because the social gospel has gained acceptance in the minds of many. 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Bragwell Our title is a line from a very familiar song to little folks who participate in Bible classes. Seeing them marching around, holding the imaginary light high with one hand, is a joy. The idea ultimately goes back to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount: \"Ye are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/candle-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68815,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/church-and-state\/","url_meta":{"origin":65421,"position":5},"title":"Church and State","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. 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