Apples of Gold

On my rare trips to Maine I plan to devour as much fresh seafood as possible. My cravings hit before I even cross the big green bridge and catch my first glimpse of the ocean. My Hashimoto’s diagnosis necessitated altering how some of my favorites are prepared in order to satisfy those cravings without sacrificing my health and well-being. 

Cravings are not limited to the food supply. They can sneak up on us through a memory, an impulse or a longing. Some cravings may be harmless or even healthy in the right dosage, but others are distracting and dangerous. There are times, perhaps even more so around Christmas, that we find ourselves craving the things this world has to offer. From comfort, to food, fame or even things, the never-ending parade of hypnotizing distractions can lure us into a state of complacency and even compromise. John gives us some advice that we better heed. 

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17

I remember (and I suspect many of you do as well) when the Sears Christmas Wishbook would arrive at our home. For those too young to remember, it was basically Amazon in catalog form. Children all over the nation spent a great deal of time painstakingly examining the options offered for toys, games and clothing. Rather than sending a link, we would circle anything and everything that caught our eye. I, for one, circled a ridiculous amount of stuff. More toys than I could possible play with, more clothes than I could realistically wear. But once that pen got warmed up it was rather hard to stop! 

The Greek word translated craving in these verses is epithymia. When I think of a craving it is often for something to eat, usually sweet, like a warm chocolate chip cookie, topped with a scoop of rapidly melting vanilla ice cream, doused in a generous scoop of chocolate sauce. Craving is a rather gentle translation of epithymia; which in actuality means lust and longing, especially for what is forbidden. 

Verse 16 sounds a bit more serious when we plug in the more accurate meaning:

The world offers only lust and longing for physical pleasure, lust and longing for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. Vs 16

The allure of pleasure, things and recognition draw us with a siren’s call that we must be prepared to resist. Sometimes it is not even the thing itself we are craving. It is the feeling we get when we acquire it. Just a little bit more, drives so many to an unhealthy place.  A detrimental pursuit, turning cravings into the controlling lust and longing of epithymia.

I grew up playing a card game called “War”. Basically two people, each with a full deck of cards would flip the top card at the same time and the highest card would win. In the event of a tie you would go to “war”, flip three cards and the highest card takes all. It didn’t matter what the cards in the middle were. This was where the game was usually won or lost. 

We are at war in the spiritual realm each and every day. It is a war for our devotion. If you were to flip through your deck of stuff, your schedule, your finances, your entertainment, your actions and attentions, is there anything that would equal or win out over God? 

When you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. (Vs 15)

John is not playing around here but unfortunately sometimes we are.

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24

This message is echoed time and again from so many of the New Testament writers. 

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 1 Peter 2:11

As we enter the Christmas season, with all the glitter, lights and celebration; perhaps approaching it all with a fresh reminder of what is really important will give us the opportunity to avoid the pitfalls of epithymia. 

These scriptures bring us to a place of necessary self-examination. Have we allowed something to sneak in to our hearts? Like a slow leak in a tire, we might not even notice the pressure slowly lowering until one day we wake up to a flat tire. 

It is easy to get off track. Keeping our gaze locked with our Lord is a much more difficult endeavor. Difficult, but worthwhile and rewarding.

And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. Vs. 17