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Week 1: Worldliness vs. Godliness“You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness.” (C.S. Lewis)Few distinctions are more clearly delineated in Scripture than the one between worldliness and godliness. In no uncertain terms, Scripture indicates that the character promoted by the world is diametrically opposed to the character promoted by God.This does not stop us from blurring the lines, though.As Christians, we often swallow, with ravenous enthusiasm, the poisonous lie promulgated by Satan himself that we can have our cake and eat it, too. We delude ourselves into thinking that piety and frivolity are symbiotic.Nothing could be further from the truth.Godliness and worldliness are not parallel paths; they are wholly divergent. And so we stand at a crossroads. Every time we make a decision.Either we will take the path that leads to life and godliness. Or we’ll take the path that leads to death and worldliness. (cf. Deut. 30: 15-20; Joshua 24: 15)There is no middle ground. Only life or death. Only hot or cold.God will vomit out of His mouth those who are lukewarm. (Revelation 3:16) At The Heart of the DistinctionWhen you boil it all down, there is one defining feature that distinguishes the worldly character from the godly one:Motive.Worldliness, at its core, is selfish. Godliness, on the other hand, at its core, is selfless. One looks inward. The other looks outward.One says, “my will be done.” The other says, “Your will be done.”3 Biblical AnalogiesScripture uses multiple analogies to describe the drastic nature of the distinction between godliness and worldliness. Consider three of them:Light vs. DarknessPossibly the most vivid analogy Scripture uses to describe the distinction between godliness and worldliness is that of light and darkness.John describes Christ as the “true Light” (John 1:9), and Jesus later confirms this epithet as valid when He simply states, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).It’s important to note that Christ did not say that He has the light of the world; He says that He is the light of the world. Thus, light is a defining feature of Christ Himself, not just His message. (And as Christ is one with God, it’s not surprising that John later writes of God the Father, “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5, NKJV).)