"Worldly" is a term whose definition is controversial among Christians; it differs from person to
person, and is easy to quarrel over or to abuse.
Our own personal opinions, or church traditions, are not the standard against which all things
may be judged and decided to be "worldly" or orthodox, or acceptable to God or not.
When it comes to defining what is "of the world" and what is not, we must have something
to compare what we are judging against.
For this we have two things: The Scriptures, and our personal knowledge of God and what
He is like and approves (and vice versa), which knowledge comes from the Holy Spirit,
and increases with God's renewing of our minds.
The more of that spiritual knowledge we have, the more discerning we are when it comes to
judging what is pleasing and acceptable to God, and what is of His Spirit, and what is
not.
What we determine to be "worldly" is directly related to our understanding of God Himself.
The better we understand what He is like---and the more like His own mind our minds become---the
better we can discern what is of the world and what is of God.
It's more than a matter of knowing what the Scriptures say or don't say about a particular
subject and basing our judgments on that; although knowing what the Scriptures teach
is fundamental for knowing what God is like and what honor and pleases Him or does not:
There are more things that the Scriptures do NOT address specifically than what they
do; and we could assume that the silence or vagueness of the Scriptures about a particular
subject means that God doesn't care about it, and that we can do whatever feels right
to us in the matter.
But that would be a foolish assumption on our part.
God cares very much about everything we do, and about how we represent Him on earth; and
faith---which requires God-given discernment---is as much a law to us as what is written: The
knowledge of God's will for us, and of His approval, or disapproval of things.
That's different than just having an opinion or a personal bias for or against something.
True God-given discernment is living according to the very mind of God, by the enlightenment
and convictions of His Holy Spirit, without which it is impossible for us to live effectively
as Christians, and which understanding is objective, differing from Christian to Christian
only in the amount of it that we possess.
The Bible alone is not enough.
God doesn't live between the pages of His written word; His written word points us to
Him in life, and teaches us about His mind and His ways, so that we can know them, and
extend that knowledge to all things, as His Spirit interprets that word and communicates
with our spirits, directing and convicting us according to that same knowledge.
The Bible provides us with the truths about God which help us to know Him better and what
His will is; but faith is not limited to only what the Scriptures address; rather, the Scriptures
teach us how to live by faith, so that we can discern God's will about ALL things, not
just what is written.
So, "worldliness" is what comes from and is of the spirits of the Godless world and the
nature of unregenerate man.
"Of the world" doesn't necessarily refer to things that are commonly used by or done by
human beings, either by nature or by culture.
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.
The Spirit of Jesus makes known to the Christian what is and what is not, as do the Scriptures.
There is a worldliness that is immodest, hedonistic and irreverent, and there is also worldliness
that is religious.
We shouldn't assume that Christians who are more outwardly conservative in appearance
are necessarily more Christlike in mind.
An un-Christlike mind results in worldly attitudes and behaviors, whether they be obvious or
obscurred by a religious appearance and rituals and traditions.
If it doesn't come from the Spirit of God, or please and honor Him in truth, it's of
the world, and therefore worldly as opposed to Godly.
Paul makes no distinction between religious worldliness and sensual worldliness when he
writes (in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1-3):
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course
of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at
work in the sons of disobedience---among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
like the rest of mankind.
We all begin our Christian life worldly, because we all start out in the world---regardless
of whether our upbringing or environment is Christian or not.
And we all have to grow in Godliness through the renewal of our minds, by being obedient
to the knowledge of God's will that He gives us, and which He increases to us as we use
the same.
Carnality is thinking and acting according to the attitudes and desires of the sinful
nature; and worldliness is the way in which carnally minded individuals live in the world.
If you want to know what "worldliness" is, you have to know what "Godliness" is; and
if you want to know what Godliness is, you have to know what God is like, and what pleases
and honors Him, and what He is NOT like and what does NOT please or honor Him.
Godliness does not have a uniform appearance; neither does worldliness.
But both are discernible by the spiritually mature Christian whose mind God has renewed
to be more like His own.
With that renewal comes increasing discernment; and with discernment, increasing Godliness.
So rather than debating what is or isn't "worldly", we would do much better as Christians to strive
to be Godly, by getting to know God better; and to seek to honor Him and to reflect Him,
in ALL of His ways, with every facet of our being---every day, more and more.
The pursuit of Godliness is the antidote to worldliness---in all of its forms.
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