“Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God.” 1 John 2:15
Thomas Chalmers was a Scottish philosopher, scientist, and minister in the Church of Scotland in the 1700 and 1800s. In a famous work of his, The expulsive power of a new affection, he wrote, “THERE are two ways in which a practical moralist may attempt to displace from the human heart its love of the world… to attempt to withdraw its regards from an object that is not worthy of it; or, by setting forth another object, even God, as more worthy of its attachment… to exchange an old affection for a new one.” In other words, in your struggle against sin, the best defense is a good offense.
In Matthew 13:33 Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then from his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Notice that the man in Matthew 13 forsook former things because of joy created by a newfound treasure. When we draw near to God, learning to treasure Christ in our hearts, sin loosens its grip and loses appeal. Don’t just try to resist temptation and sin by your own power. Draw near to Christ, spend time with Him, treasure Him, think deeply on His word, and experience the expulsive power of a new affection.