Worldliness is when I absorb and embrace a way of thinking and living that is not submissive to God but is instead contrary to God. Worldliness is what the apostle John calls “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). We live in a very worldly world; in our experiences in life, we are always meeting worldly thinking and worldly influence and worldly pressure. This worldliness aims to access our own souls and, sadly, too often gets in. Too often it finds itself at home in our hearts and lives.

The Bible teaches us to flee worldliness. To flee means to run away as far as possible and fast as possible. John writes to Christians, “Love not the world” (1 John 2:15). Paul urges in Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to this world.” What both mean is that we’re to live in such a way that we reject all ways of thinking and living that are directed by our sinful minds and hearts as well as influenced by the devil. That’s to flee worldliness.

So how do we do that?⤒🔗

In the first place, let us seek to be renewed in our minds.

Paul writes in Romans 12:2,

And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.

If we’re not going to be conformed to this world but truly transformed, then we have to experience mind renewal. And surely that means nothing else but getting a new mind through exposure to and absorption of God’s Word, all blessed to us by the Holy Spirit. If we would flee worldliness, how diligent we should be in careful and prayerful reading and hearing of Scripture.

Already this point can be a test for us. If we are not getting new minds, very likely we are very worldly. Let us start with this basic, most fundamental point: “by the renewing of your mind.” So open the Bible. Read it with attention and prayer. Listen to it preached. Think over it constantly and discuss it with others. That’s the start.

In the second place, to flee worldliness, let us commit to doing God’s will. John writes about this in 1 John 2. He makes the key point in verse 17 that “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof.” And then John says, “he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” John is contrasting those who love the world with those who do not love it. Those who do not love it are those who do God’s will. It’s both a mark of the godly and the way to godliness. When we keep God’s commandments and commit ourselves to joyful, thankful obedience to the Lord, then we find the world has no power over us.

This too is a test. Do you aim to do God’s commandments? Won’t this help you to flee worldliness? There is a third point to consider. John talks about the love of the Father. He writes in 1 John 2:15,

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

You cannot love both the world and the Father. If you love the world, you don’t love the Father. And that means that you don’t know His love and you don’t show Him love. But at the same time, it must also be true that if you love the Father, if you know His love shed abroad in your heart through the Holy Spirit, if you know His love and also show Him love, how can you love the world? To use the form of the text but changing the words, “If any man love the Father, the love of the world is not in him.” It just can’t be!

So this too is a test. Maybe it’s the ultimate test. You cannot flee worldliness unless you love the Father. But then, how can we not love the Father? Is He not “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3), especially through His own beloved Son, Jesus Christ? And is He not all this even to undeserving sinners like us? Therefore, let us not love the world. What can it do for us? And besides, it is passing away (1 John 2:17). Let us not love the world, but let us love the all-beautiful Father, together with His all-glorious Son and the ever-blessed Holy Spirit. Let us love the triune God – really love Him. That is the way to flee worldliness.