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“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 Jn. 5:5).  Christians are described as overcomers of the world through their belief in Jesus.  King David in Psalm 34 having “tasted the goodness of the Lord” (His protection and provisions) encourages everyone to do likewise as he elicits some of the blessings.  He stressed a need for believers to cultivate a fear for the Lord.  The fear of the Lord is manifested in many ways; foremost among them is the control of the tongue and departing from evil practices.  Those who truly fear God will love and obey Him.  There will be no want of things essential to their happiness in this life.

‘The righteous cries out and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles” (Ps.34:17).  God will keep us safe and well in our afflictions and He will ultimately deliver us from all adversities.  He cannot overlook sin and will execute judgment on the wicked and evildoers.  He redeems His servants while the wicked ones will be condemned.  This precaution of conformity to the world is of great significance to today’s Christians. “The world” addresses to the carnal nature which tend to distract our attention away from obeying God.  In other words, anyone or anything that draws your heart away from God is for you – “the world” – be it the cares of this life, riches, status and social prestige.  Look to Jesus to “deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13) and to be proactive in the avoidance of wrongdoings in our lives.

“For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 Jn. 2:16).  Therefore, our faith must be strong enough.  The more we cultivate real communion with Jesus Christ, the less attractive these temptations become.  One way of assessing how much we are of this world would be to determine if we are holding on more lightly to the things most prized by the ungodly.  We are to look to the “treasures in heaven” rather than the “treasures on earth” (ref. Matt. 6:20).  It is not an easy task to achieve this immediately because it is a lifelong business, a prolonged and continuous strife for the Christian.  We can trust and depend on Jesus to be overcomers!