Topical Bible: Natural Life: Cares and Pleasures of, Dangerous

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The concept of natural life, with its inherent cares and pleasures, is a recurring theme in the Bible, often portrayed as a potential distraction from spiritual growth and devotion to God. The Scriptures provide numerous warnings about the dangers associated with becoming overly entangled in the concerns and enjoyments of earthly existence.

Cares of Life

The cares of life refer to the anxieties and responsibilities that accompany daily living. These can include concerns about material needs, social status, and personal ambitions. Jesus addresses these concerns in the Parable of the Sower, where He warns about the seed sown among thorns: "But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful" (Mark 4:19). Here, the cares of life are depicted as thorns that can suffocate spiritual growth and render the Word of God ineffective in a person's life.

In Luke 21:34, Jesus further cautions His followers: "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap" . This warning highlights the danger of allowing life's worries to distract from spiritual vigilance and readiness for the Lord's return.

Pleasures of Life

The pleasures of life, while not inherently sinful, can become dangerous when they lead to a neglect of spiritual priorities. The Apostle Paul advises Timothy to instruct those who are rich in this present world "not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17). This passage underscores the importance of maintaining a proper perspective on earthly pleasures, recognizing them as gifts from God rather than ends in themselves.

James 4:4 offers a stark warning about the dangers of friendship with the world: "You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God" . This verse emphasizes the incompatibility of worldly pleasures with a life devoted to God, urging believers to prioritize their relationship with Him above all else.

The Call to Spiritual Focus

Throughout Scripture, believers are called to maintain a focus on spiritual matters, resisting the temptation to become ensnared by the cares and pleasures of natural life. In Colossians 3:2, Paul exhorts the church: "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" . This directive encourages Christians to cultivate a heavenly mindset, prioritizing eternal values over temporal concerns.

Similarly, in Matthew 6:33, Jesus provides a guiding principle for navigating the cares and pleasures of life: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you" . By placing God's kingdom and righteousness at the forefront, believers can trust that their earthly needs will be met without succumbing to the distractions of worldly cares and pleasures.

In summary, while the cares and pleasures of natural life are an inevitable part of human existence, the Bible consistently warns of their potential to divert attention from spiritual growth and devotion to God. Believers are encouraged to remain vigilant, prioritizing their relationship with God and seeking His kingdom above all else.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Luke 8:14
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Luke 21:34
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come on you unawares.
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2 Timothy 2:4
No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier.
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Library

How to Use the Present Life, and the Comforts of It.
... The natural qualities of things themselves demonstrate to ... his particular mode of
life will, without repining, suffer its inconveniences, cares, uneasiness, and ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 10 how to use.htm

The Sower.
... husks develop themselves in their own exquisite natural forms, no ... to the increase
or maintenance of spiritual life. ... A thickly woven web of cares and pleasures ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arnot/the parables of our lord/i the sower.htm

How to Use the Present Life, and the Comforts of It.
... The natural qualities of things themselves demonstrate to ... his particular mode of
life will, without repining, suffer its inconveniences, cares, uneasiness, and ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/sergieff/on the christian life/chapter v how to use.htm

The Care of the Soul Urged as the one Thing Needful
... fatal attachment to the pleasures and cares of the ... indeed, by many, whose natural
capacities, improvements, and circumstances in life, appear to ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/the care of the soul.htm

Felix Before Paul
... It is the watershed of his life that he has come ... and judgment to come,' and make
a natural effort to ... consciences be crowded out of them by cares and enjoyments ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture the acts/felix before paul.htm

Temporal Advantages.
... to withdraw our feet from the narrow way of life. ... is he that heareth the word, and
the cares of this ... there is something so agreeable to our natural tastes in ...
/.../newman/parochial and plain sermons vol vii/sermon v temporal advantages.htm

On Marriage.
... its pleasures and its business, its sufferings and its cares. ... in the active exercise
of their natural faculties, so ... we see the ripening fruits of the life. ...
/.../schleiermacher/selected sermons of schleiermacher/vii on marriage.htm

The New-Birth
... be delivered from the power of its pleasures over us ... morality, and partly by the
comforts, cares and delights ... [Reg-192] (42.) Now though the natural life in all ...
/.../law/the grounds and reasons of christian regeneration/the new-birth.htm

He Restoreth My Soul.
... Forget your troubles and your cares, your fears of ... to evil is part of our natural
condition, and ... Howsoever enormous the evils of life, and notwithstanding all ...
/.../callan/the shepherd of my soul/v he restoreth my soul.htm

Why the Divine Invitation is Refused.
... is certainly nothing but the indolence and inertia so natural to men ... the way of this
invitation; that is, the pressing cares for the outward life, which so ...
/.../selected sermons of schleiermacher/xix why the divine invitation.htm