“Don’t judge a book by its cover” certainly applies to this small, nearly pocket-sized hardcover book, which looks as if it could be read in less than an hour with minimal effort.  The title suggests a catalog of questionable behaviors committed by “the world,” with lists of rules to help “the church” resist them.  Not only does the book require fairly slow and thoughtful reading, however, it takes the discussion to where worldliness begins with desires and pride in the heart.

Written by five pastors, Worldliness could be considered a series of sermons for which the primary text is I John 2:15.  As good preachers should, these men apply timeless biblical principles to the areas where carnality seems most easily to beset contemporary Christians: media, music, “stuff,” and clothes. 

C.J. Mahaney begins by defining worldliness as “gratifying and exalting self to the exclusion of God (27).”  Thomas Jefferson created his own version of the Bible by cutting out the verses he didn’t like; Mahaney suggests that too many Christians are functional Jeffersons in our use of Scripture.   (His target audience appears to be regenerated but immature publicans and sinners rather than converted scribes and Pharisees; he asks, “Is your lifestyle obviously different from that of the non-Christian? [24]”  The ability to answer confidently “Yes!” is not an indication to stop reading.)

Media, in its ever-changing forms, is characterized as “the omnipresent backdrop of life” for Americans. (37)   This chapter deals mostly with television and film media (entertainment), but the author’s cautions and principles are applicable even to those whose only means of access are newspapers, radio, and minimal use of the internet. The section on legalism addresses those who fear and oppose it, yet it contains forceful rebuke for those who may be entangled in it.

Music has long caused controversy among Christians.  With the introduction of the new musical styles of the last century, that battle has intensified.  Stating that “music is God’s idea, and apparently He enjoys it immensely (69),” Bob Kauflin describes music as a “carrier of…content, context, and culture (73).”  He suggests that the music we hear influences and affects our hearts in addition to revealing the sin that is already there.  Kauflin gives practical suggestions for using music to the glory of God.

Dave Harvey calls loving “stuff” (covetousness) an “equal-opportunity sin” affecting both “the rich and the poor” (96).  Even those who consider themselves neither will identify untruths they believe about their possessions.  Harvey recommends gratitude, generous giving, and “de-materializing” our lives and includes advice to parents on combating the natural covetousness of children.

C.J. Mahaney addresses the clothing chapter primarily to women, acknowledging that women’s natural love of beauty and attractiveness can also lead to “immodesty and indiscretion (118).”  He adds a few words to “fathers, whose primary responsibility it is to raise modest daughters (119.”  The boundaries he sketches, although they are not where Anabaptists would draw them, are more than just a “clothing check” in that they indicate further thought about underlying issues and principles than many of us are accustomed to.

The book ends, surprisingly, with a chapter entitled “How to Love the World.”  God does; how do we imitate Him without either becoming entangled or living a life of avoidance and negation?  Jeff Purswell advises modeling our worldview on the only completely true story of reality: the biblical account of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation.  He categorizes the tasks God charges us with as “enjoying, engaging, and evangelizing the world.”  

All five authors make it clear that while fighting worldliness and advancing in holiness do involve evaluating actions, making judgments, and setting parameters, their focus is the heart.   Some of them address their subjects more thoroughly than others; the chapter on materialism is probably the weakest.  A book of this size obviously cannot be an exhaustive study, yet it makes a good beginning for more in-depth investigation of a subject we cannot afford to ignore.