What is the pride of life?

If the love of the Father possesses us, we shall see the world in its true light. We shall possess a spiritual faculty which acts after the fashion of the much prized X-rays. We shall get down beneath the surface of things to the skeleton framework on which all is built. That skeleton is revealed to us in verse 16 as, "The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life;" all of which spring not from the Father but are wholly of the world.

The lust of the flesh is the desire of having — the desire to possess oneself of those things that minister to the flesh. The lust of the eyes is the desire of seeing, whether with the eyes of the head or with those of the mind, all the things that minister to one's pleasures. It would cover man's restless intellectual cravings as well as his continual hunt for spectacular pleasures. The pride of life is the desire of being — the yearning to be somebody, or something that ministers to pride of heart. This is the most deep-seated evil of the three, and often the least-suspected.

"The pride of life is the desire of BEING. The worst of the three, this lust lies most deeply ingrained in humanity. It covers every desire connected with the immortal spirit which was man's chief possession and glory in creation. It is essentially one desire, the desire of being supreme and first — first amongst the smallest and most insignificant coterie of humanity, or rising in its full height and daring impiety to challenge the supremacy of the God who sits on the circle of the heavens.

Third, there is the pride of life; the lustful desire for self-exaltation, that is natural to every child of Adam. It is the alliance between the pride of life and the lust of the eyes that threatens to wreck the very earth on which we live. Sober men of the world begin to fear this. We know that the whole world system will pass away; but that will be under the judgment of God.

*There is no doubt that in this passage love of the world and love of the Father are characteristic. But we speak above of the general truth in its application.

To guard against all misconception, the apostle speaks not only of the world, but also of the things that are in the world; and these are specified as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. That is, everything which the flesh can desire in any shape or form, all that may please the eye, everything the eye may covet or desire to possess, and also everything in which a man can take pride, which gives him importance in this world or exalts him amongst his fellow-men, whether it be rank, distinction, learning, strength, skill, or power all, in a word, that ministers to man as man in this world. The "young" man is to eschew all these things, and will just in proportion as he understands their relation to a rejected Christ, and consequently to the Father and His love.

It appeals to the flesh, the feelings of a corrupted nature: this is the sensual attraction. But more, there is the lust of the eyes,” the artistic attraction, — form, color, perspective, all engaged to appeal to that in us which seems noble and dignified, but which calmly excludes the Father. May our eyes not wander from our holy blessed Lord, in Whom all true, pure beauty is comprehended. And thirdly, “the pride of life” is the intellectual attraction, the appeal of increasing knowledge, by which the world boasts of its ability to do without God. If by scientific investigation men have learned amazingly even in recent years, can they not remember that God is the Author of all true science? Yet the world arrogates to itself all credit for its advance in knowledge, and would fain pretend they have gone beyond the God of the Bible in their understanding of the universe! Ought the believer to be deceived by any of this? Let the energetic, strong child of God take warning: “the world passeth away and the lust thereof.” It is only a temporary, shining bubble, ready to burst. How empty the delusion of seeking satisfaction in any measure from that which is of the world. “But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” The will of God is the one principle of eternal permanence and value. Every newborn soul is in principle a doer of God’s will: let him then be such in constant practice. Since he abides forever, let his conduct be in view of eternal values.

But you may ask — What do you mean by moral order? I mean the order in which Satan's temptations usually reach us, as they reached Eve at first, and all the world since. It is written, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food" (the lust of the flesh), "and that it was pleasant to the eyes" (the lust of the eye), "and a tree to be desired to make one wise" (the pride of life), "she took of the fruit thereof and did eat; and gave also to her husband with her, and he did eat" (Gen. 3:6). The order here is akin to Luke's account of the Lord's temptations, and exactly what the Spirit of God elsewhere thus describes: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16). Poor world! Its composition is after all only twofold, lust and pride. Lust is seeking what I do not possess, pride is self-exaltation on account of what I do possess. These principles form and actuate the world — away from God.

Before these our first parents and every other son of Adam's race had failed. But Christ was tempted and emerged victorious. Compare 1 John 2, "The Lust of the Flesh" — what can I get? "The Lust of the Eye" — what can I see? "The Pride of Life" — what can others see in me

From the standpoint of the world such movements undoubtedly are justifiable; from the standpoint of Christianity it is quite a different matter. That they benefit the world will not be denied; that they promote the interests of Christ is much more than doubtful. The world, not Christ, is their object. The world seeks its own things, not the things of Christ. It is the love that is of the world, not the love that is of the Father, that characterizes all its projects. It is the glory of the world that is sought, not the glory of Christ. But Christian love is the love that is of the Father. The activity of the love that is of Him should mark the Christian, not the activity of the love that is of the world. Hence, the apostle exhorts the young men not to love the world, or the things of the world. He puts the two things — the love of the world and the love of the Father — in direct contrast, as being diametrically opposites. He would not have the young men entangled in what is opposed to the love that is of the Father. It is against entanglement with the world or its things that he is warning them.

And to help them escape entanglement he points out the three principles which underlie everything that is in the world. He is of course not speaking of the physical world, but the world of which fallen, sinful man is the centre, the world which has been built up around the failed first man. Everything in his world is characterized by three principles — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These three things mark every scheme that is of the world. Every worldly project or movement is stamped by these three principles. Now the love that is energized by these principles is not the love that is of the Father. The Christian, then, when enticed by the world or some worldly project, has but to ask, What are the ruling principles to which I must subject myself? Is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life what characterize the movement he is desired to connect himself with? If so, he may know it is not of the Father.

What a simple rule! What a certain safeguard! Am I asked to take part in any movement in which the desires of the flesh are ministered to? I may unhesitatingly decline. It may be pleaded it is benevolent, but it is not the love that is of the Father. I may be told of a certain scheme which, if I will link myself with it, will afford me opportunity for advancement in the world; will make life in this world more enjoyable; will provide me with avenues to gain, to the possession of things seen; but that is the lust of the eyes — not the love that is of the Father. I may be assured too that I will be greatly respected and honored, but that is the pride of life. It is not of the Father, who would lead me to honor Christ — not to seek to be honored where He was dishonored.

But the love of the world is inconsistent with the love of the Father. There is no element in it which is of Him. It is the great, imposing system which, for all the show it makes, has grown out just of its alienation from God. The things that are in it are "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." These characterize it, — a heart away from God which finds no longer its satisfaction in Him, — seeks it no more there, and as a consequence has to make its riches just of the things that are in its hands, with nothing beyond; the things that pamper fleshly instincts; the things that raise question and incite to how many paths of knowledge in a scene which has so many mysteries for us. There follows with this "the pride of life," the realization of man's place over the world, which, indeed, was given him of God from the beginning, but which he is all the less enjoying when he seems most conscious of it. It is not hard to understand the development here, in days when the desire of knowledge is so great with us, and the sense of acquirement so strong. In all this, the things that attract us have a certain natural and necessary interest. God did not put us here amid the wonders of His own creation without meaning them to be something to us, and He has, indeed, provided in His own Word that which stimulates question, and of a deeper character than mere nature in itself could raise. He has provided in it also the answer to these questions in a way we very little realize, and, if we turned to Him with them, how should we find what, even naturally, our heritage is! But men seek it away from God. They go into it to make it a substitute for Himself. They receive it not from Him, but from the one into whose hands it has fallen through their sin, and into whose hands they have fallen. Thus the most innocent delight can in this way draw the soul away from God. While the gifts are valued, they are not valued as His gifts, nor Himself trusted in. The gifts draw from the Giver.*

It appeals to the flesh, the feeling of a corrupted nature: this is the sensual attraction. But more, there is the lust of the eyes," the artistic attraction, - form, colour, perspective, all engaged to appeal to that in us which seems noble and dignified, but which calmly excludes the Father. May our eyes not wander from our holy blessed Lord, in Whom all true, pure beauty is comprehended. And thirdly, "the pride of life" is the intellectual attraction, the appeal of increasing knowledge, by which the world boasts of its ability to do without God.