Tell Me Whose Side Are You Leaning On

James 4:4

A little Greek:
friendship - Think "Philadephia" - brotherly love and all that.
the world - Think cosmos.

Diving deeper into those Greek works we find that philos means that you are really fond of something.  You like it.  You hold it close to you because it is dear to you.   But it doesn't stop at a feeling - it's acting upon that feeling - living it out.  Moving toward it.

And kosmos - well, we think of the Big cosmos... but look at the cosmos of your kitchen - or the ambiance of it - how things are placed and arranged to give a certain feeling.  You have the sleek kitchen that gives the feeling of cleanliness and order.  You have the country kitchen that gives the feeling of homeyness and warmth.  At it's core, "kosmos" is the decorations.

Being a friend of the world means liking the way the world is decorated and chasing after those decorations.

Eyeyeyeeee...  Here we get to a sore subject for me.  I love decorations.  I love pretty things.  One of my favorite things to do is to decorate - to make something pretty.  A room.  A table.  Anything.  But, in the end - the decorations just go so far.  A burnt dinner on a beautiful table is still a burnt dinner.  A lovely living room is useless for a family that never sits in it together.  At the core, trash is still trash even with a pretty bow on it.

So, we get enamored with the world's bows.  They hypnotize us and pull us in.  And God calls this adultery.  He calls it idol worship.

Sometimes it's things like money, yes... but sometimes it's security.  Or love.  Or just not being lonely.  Or a thriving ministry.  Sometimes the world's bows are printed with little crosses so that we think they are "Christian".   And in leaning in towards those things - instead of leaning into our Perfect God - we become his enemies.  You can't lean in two directions at once.  Whose side are you leaning on?