Family Problems 5
- Worldliness
I.
Worldliness and the Family
A. What is worldliness?
1. Defined
a.
The quality of being worldly; a
predominant passion for obtaining the good things of this life; covetousness;
addictedness to gain and temporal enjoyments; worldly- mindedness. (Webster’s
Unabridged, 1913)
b.
While the Bible does not use the word, it speaks of the world in
the way we are defining it. In John
17:11, 16 – Jesus prayed for His apostles noting that they were in the world
but not OF the world.
1 John
Ephesians 2:1-3 – They way in which you once walked is described
c. In the book, Raising Kids Who Hunger for God, by Benny and Sheree Phillips defines it as, “the process of taking on the values, beliefs and priorities of a society that has rejected God.”
2. Areas of worldliness
a. Materialism – the pursuit of things. So many in our society have as their ultimate goal “the almighty dollar”. Success is often measured by how many things you possess.
b. Time management – the worldly spend their time being worldly.
c. Pleasures – its all about what feels good right now. There are no real boundaries (unless it hurts someone else). Many of the pleasures of this world are sinful within themselves while others become sinful because they become the primary pursuit of life.
d.
Attitudes – worldly attitudes change the concept of God,
punishment and accountability. Their
view of God’s word also changes its intended meaning.
AND there are numerous worldly (sinful) attitudes within themselves, i.e. –
its acceptable to lie, use profanity, be hateful, etc.
3. God’s word and worldliness
a. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – We are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
b. James 4:4 – friendship with the world is enmity with God
B. How worldliness affects the family
1. Things become our goal – We begin to value our possessions more than our relationship with God.
2. Our time is consumed – We have less or no time to give to God and His church
3. The pursuit of pleasures – Serving God becomes boring and unfulfilling
4. In time, immorality and ungodly practices begin to creep in and God is squeezed out of our lives.
5. It affects the marriage
a. Less time is spent together because more time is spent on worldly pursuits.
b. Godly roles are clouded as they worldly concept is accepted.
c. Less time is spent with God because the time is simply not there to adequately give Him what He deserves.
6. It affects parenting
a. Sometimes parents give their children everything they want thus instilling in them an ungodly concept of the world.
b. Parents want their children to be popular and successful, so they compromise God’s standards in their selection of friends, education, etc. They allow them to do whatever they want to do.
c. They fail to properly discipline their children turning to worldly concepts that will not instill godly values. NOTE: When punishment doesn’t hurt, they don’t get the concept of future punishment.
7. It rubs off on the children –
a. Because of the way they are raised they have a worldly concept about things. They don’t understand contentment, doing without, sharing, and the true value of things. They do not appreciate the rewards of hard work and responsibility.
b.
Because God is not a regular part of their lives, they are not
grounded in God’s word – so they are ignorant about His expectations for
them. This may even skew their
concept of properly approaching God’s word.
The reason we are religiously divided is because much of the world fails
to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy
c. Often times, sinful practices begin to creep in. They become desensitized to the profanity and immorality they watch and hear (and sometimes they even do these things). They many see little lies and a little cheating as acceptable. They may dress immodestly and associate with the wrong crowd.
d. Often they quit serving God. Why do so many children quit serving God as soon as they leave home? Often it is because of what they saw IN the home. Either they saw hypocrisy or they simply did not see God as all that important. Going to church was nothing more than a social thing that was a good habit. If they perceive this, then they may start going to church again later in life, but WHERE they go will not be that important.
8. As God is driven out of the home, the chances of divorce, marital infidelity, further marital and family problems will rise.
II. Dealing with
Worldliness
1. Colossians 3:1-2 – we need to set our minds on things above
2. 2 Corinthians 13:5, the oft quoted verse – examine yourself. IF we want our families to be godly and avoid the problems of worldliness, it starts with this examination.
1. We know from God’s word the importance of not delaying – Matthew 25:1-12; 2 Corinthians 6:2, etc.
2. If there is ANY area where this is important, it is within families (I’m not saying more important than other areas).
3. If you don’t begin to address it now, the problems will only get worse. Children will keep growing up, you marriage will continue to develop, habits will continue to be formed and God will be pushed further out of the picture.
1.
God demands first place in our lives – Matthew 6:33;
2. Pray together, study together, worship God regularly and as often as possible. Do things to build up the church – phone calls, visits, associate with your brethren, etc. What are your children seeing as the important things in your life?
1. This is the most difficult step in becoming godlier.
2. Turn off the television more often, don’t go places where you will be tempted to sin, etc.
1. The Christian has this world in proper perspective. He is content with what he has – 1 Timothy 6:6. He realizes that he is just a pilgrim – 1 Peter 2:11-12. He know where his treasure is – Matthew 6:19-21.
2. If you are abundantly blessed – GIVE to others. That is what the life of a Christian is all about.