1 John 2:15 – "love not the world or the things of the world"
Why is it so easy to spot a fault in others, but almost impossible to see it in ourselves even after we’ve been made aware of it by another person? I can’t answer this question but I can say that one solution for us to confirm that we have a particular sin is to look for symptoms of it. The process is similar to how a doctor diagnoses an illness. He or she knows the symptoms of the flu, for example (nausea, vomiting, etc) – so he or she can prescribe medicine to help us. In most cases it’s not even necessary to see our blood samples under a microscope to confirm what we have.
In the Christian life, there’s a symptom that you can look for in order to tell if you love the world. It’s found in 1 Tim 6:10:
“For the love of money is the root of all sorts of kinds of evil, and by it many have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Here we clearly read that the love of money pierces us with many griefs. That is, if we love money we will end up grieving because of it. In other words, if our bank account causes us anxiety, it’s a sign that we love money. Even the rich (who love money) will stress over money, for no bank account is ever big enough for the one who loves money. (Ecc 5:10) – “he who loves money will never be satisfied with it.” This applies to all material possessions, because money really represents what it can buy – material possessions. If we love and worship material possessions, we will find ourselves grieving because of them when something goes wrong.
My new car gets scratched… I get angry. The stock market drops like crazy… I rip out my hair. I get a pay cut at work… I become frustrated and rebellious. My love for money and love for possessions has pierced me with many griefs.
Examine yourself and see if you have a tendency to stress and grieve over your material possessions and money (or lack of them/it). If this is the case, it’s an indicator that your love for the world is the root cause. If you continue down this path, you’re in danger of worldly cares choking your life with Christ (Mat 13:22). You can never be flowing with the joy and peace of God when the love of the world has pierced you.