Why is friendship with the world hated toward God?

Why is friendship with the world hated toward God?

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. –James 4:4 

The word here "world" here means the fallen sinful world of men. It is clearly described in John 3:19 

John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.

Gal 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

I John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one

It is in rebellion against God. It is loves sin and hated Christ. So to have friendship with it is to join the enemies of the one true God, and to become His enemy. Let us take these solemn words to heart. Will we dare to be friends with the world that crucified the Lord Jesus? Let us beware. 

Rom 12;2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

What do you think when you hear the phrase "friendship with the world"? "Friendship" is a nice word, isn't it? When we think of friendship, we usually have pleasant thoughts. After all, we like our friends, or they wouldn't be our friends, right? It might surprise you, then, to learn that the Bible tells us that friendship with the world is hatred toward God. Yes, indeed, it really does say that: 

Does that mean it is wrong to have friendships? Certainly not. Friendship is a wonderful thing, not a hateful thing. First, we should understand that there is a difference between being friendly and true friendship. It is not wrong to be friendly with as many people as possible. In fact, we ought to be. What, then, could "friendship with the world is hatred toward God" possibly mean, then? It means that when we give more consideration to worldly things than we do to God, then we are showing hatred toward God.

God doesn't have to be our only friend, but we should always choose Him first. When we do, then we will make our other choices wisely, too. We will choose earthly friends who also want to please Him and put Him first. We and our well-chosen friends will do our best to behave in ways which are pleasing to God. This is choosing to be friends of God rather than friends of the world.

Remember, there is no friend more faithful, loving, or powerful than God. It surely is a better thing to be His friend rather than His enemy. Choose God rather than the world. If you do, He will always choose you, too.

Friendship with the world is hatred towards God. As a Christian, you have to guard against worldliness. You might wonder, “Does it mean I can’t like the world?” Well, God is saying that you can’t like both. You just can’t love God and love Satan. To imagine you could would amount to self-deception; it’s just not possible. According to God’s word, friendship with the world is instant, simultaneous hatred for God.

If as a Christian, your best friend is an unbeliever, you mingle and have fellowship with the world, and then on Sundays you lift up your hands and say, “God, I love you” in church, you are trying to deceive God; but he can’t be deceived because He can see your heart.

“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”