“The world here [1 John 2:15-16] is creation after the fall and under the dominion of Satan. It is creation no longer oriented toward God, but temporary and dominated by inordinate passions (see Mt 6:24; Lk 16:13; 1Co 7:29–31)…The world distorts every realm of God's good creation (see Jam 1:13, 14). There are (1) sensual pleasures of the flesh (physical passions), (2) intellectual attainments and capacities of the eyes (the soul's passions), and (3) inordinate possessions, power, and honors of life (the pride of human spirit). Biblical ascetic practices—prayer, fasting, almsgiving (see Mt 6:1–18)—help us overcome these distortions and live lives of virtue.” (Orthodox Study Bible, 1 John 2:15, 16)
“Do not love the world. These words may be rephrased as “stop loving the world.” John’s readers were acting in a way that was inconsistent with the relationship with Christ. “World” here is the morally evil system opposed to all that God is and holds dear. In this sense, the “world” is the satanic system opposing Christ’s kingdom on this earth (v. 16; 3:1; 4:4; 5:19; John 12:31; Eph. 6:11–12; James 4:4).” (Foundation Study Bible, 1 John 2:15)
“The love of Christ constrains us to live rightly in this world until death comes, or until the Lord returns. Yet because of its fallen state, the world will always tend to draw us away from communion with the Lord Jesus…When we make Christ central in our hearts and give Him first place in our lives, we step aside from this world’s values.” (Dynamis 7/13/2018, 1/18/2017)
“How can we become like Christ? By reading and heeding the Word, by studying his life on earth through the Gospels, by spending time in prayer, by being filled with his Spirit, and by doing His work in the world.” (Life Application Study Bible, Romans 8:29)
“…while the world we live in is broken, everything God created is inherently good. Our virtues and our vices are the result of how we interact with this God-given goodness…I think too many Christians have decided that the world is bad and should be avoided as much as possible. Well, it’s hard to convert people if that’s your stance…It’s a lot easier to help people to see their own goodness and then bring them in than to point out how bad they are and bring them in.” (Kevin Scherer, Father Benedict)
“Modernity is the practice and faith of gross idolatry. We worship technology, money, politics, science, everything that we believe is a human tool capable of building a better world. No tool is any better or different than the people who use them. A bad man cannot use a good tool to make a good world. A bad man makes a bad world and nothing more. When we were baptized, we were asked to renounce the devil. More than that, we were asked to spit on him. That same devil suggested to Christ that he could make the world a better place if only He would bow down and worship the devil. Christ rebuked him. The same offer has been made to us. It is called “modernity,” and it is a devil’s bargain.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“The Scripture proclaims the word of God: "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:14) This necessitates a deep and abiding humility. We must accept that we cannot change the world, as we can hardly change ourselves. Look within, and you will find the same resistance to change that you will encounter in others. Our fallen nature resists change, because we have not yet renounced our selfish pride and accepted the protection and care of God. In fact, we doubt or even forget God in our daily lives, relying on our own limited powers.” (Bishop Joseph)
“Striving to make the world a better place, despite how loving and nice this sounds, is actually a wrong-headed notion though it may be well intended. Making the world a better place is God’s job, not ours. Our primary focus should be to have union with Christ to get our hearts right. When our hearts are right, we will think and act right and God will make the world a better place through us. That’s why Christ commanded us to love another as He loved us. Having this as our primary focus will make the world a much better place.” (Sacramental Living Blog)
“Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody thinks about changing himself.” (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
“We must be people of prayer, Bible study…He wants to change the world through us…” (Life Application Study Bible, Haggai 2:4)