Keeping the World out of our hearts

I am not about to reveal an epiphany on this topic. I merely want to share my thoughts from my devotions this morning on 1 Corinthians 7. I often find the notes in my Bible to completely skip commenting on the verses I want most to hear comments on, so my mom got me Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible for Christmas last year (in such tiny print that I can only imagine I will only be able to see it unaided for another 5 years!). I find his comments so useful, for the most part.

Verses 29-31: "This is what I mean, brothers: The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it (NIV: those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them, NKJ: and they that use this world, as though not abusing it). For the present form of this world is passing away."

Commentary on v. 31 (from the King James, I suppose): "We must keep the world as much as may be out of our hearts, so that we may not abuse it when we have it in our hands"

I often struggle with verses like these, wondering if I am "abusing" my station in the world. Especially because I love reading, (especially stories, which are often "of this world") I wonder if I am too much engrossed in the world. I usually respond to stories from a Christian perspective, thinking about how selfish a certain character was, or how vain another was, or how the outcome would be so different if only they had trusted God in the situation, or how Harry Potter reminds me of the Christian's battle with sin; but I also wonder if this is enough separation from the world.

Here are my thoughts that I wrote in my devotions notebook, entirely unrelated to reading: "Abusing the world means not using it to give glory to God. And so we should not always be desiring this or that "thing" of the world, because when we get it (or if) we will only use it for us and not for God; whereas if we only desire God, to glorify him, period, we will use anything we are given (big, small, wealth or poverty) to honor him and worship him."

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His righteousness,
And all these things will be given unto you..." (from the song)

May I strive, more arduously, to seek God alone, above all else.