BIBLE PASSAGE:
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the
good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with such people.
(2 Timothy 3:1-5)
MEDITATION:
Many people want to know when Jesus will return for the final
judgment. Why would they be concerned? Would their lifestyle
and priorities change if they thought His return was near? Doesn’t
that imply that they are not living as they should, and they know it?
We live in a world where procrastination is not unusual. Sure we
will live as the Lord expects us to, “one day”, just not right now.
Of course no one knows when Jesus will return, except for God.
“But about that day or hour no one knows,
not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36)
However, Paul was given a vision of signs that indicate His return
is nearing. He said there will be “terrible times”. Are we living in
perilous times? Of course we are, as crime, murder and terrorism
is increasing rapidly.
He said “people will be lovers of themselves”. There are many folks
today with an attitude of, “It’s all about me”. He said people will be
“lovers of money”. The mantra of the world we live in is,
“Get all you can, and can all you get”.
Homes are being broken apart due to the absence of workaholics
who are in pursuit of more possessions and staying ahead of others.
It is no surprise that he lists “boastful”, “proud”, and “conceited”.
As people make more money, they get more possessions, and naturally
they want to ‘show them off’ to others. Those of us who love sports see
this type of attitude often as a player tries to draw attention to himself
as he pounds his chest or engages in some other kind of attention getting
antic.
They become proud of everything that is theirs and have little concern
of what others have (unless it is more or better). Listen closely to a
conversation between two people and see how much one will talk
about the achievements of themselves or their children, and how
little they ask the other person about theirs.
“Abusive” and “brutal” is often a result of being frustrated over
failures in attempts to ‘achieve’ that has caused them to miss out
on enjoying what they consider the important things of life. It can
also be caused by not being able to cope with some situations that
result in a lack of ‘self-control’ (another sign listed by Paul). Or, it
could be a sign that sin has taken them down the dark path of meanness.
Not too many years ago, there was an occasional ‘brat’ in the neighborhood,
but more lately we can see instances of disrespect for parents in many families.
We could explore all kinds of reasons for this, but the fact remains that a
growing number of children are “disobedient to their parents” with no fear
of consequences for their actions.
“Ungrateful” doesn’t mean not doing something for others in return for
what they have done for you. It means that a person does not even show
genuine gratitude for what they receive from others (whether it is a gift,
a helping hand, or encouragement). This includes a lack of appreciation
for all that God has provided for them.
“Unholy” is an interesting item in Paul’s list. It is indicative of those
who ‘put on a front’ of being a believer, but underneath the facade
there is no real substance to support their claim. Too many people
are convincing themselves and others that they are saved by their
words and actions, but they are speeding toward an eternity separated
from the Lord. The root cause is, many have created a personal ‘religion’
with their own guidelines, instead of succumbing to God’s commands.
Although we could list many examples, let’s look at one that happens
often. Someone claims to be a Christian, quotes scriptures, and posts
biblical phrases on social media. However, they have ‘dug in their heels’
about obeying His command to worship together with other believers.
When asked about it, they will either become angry (because they know
they are wrong), or will justify their disobedience (because they are
trying to convince themselves that it’s okay).
Note:
Of course there are times when people cannot attend due to sickness,
compromised immune systems, etc.
Here is an interesting tidbit though – when someone is smitten by someone
and that person asks them to attend church with them, they jump at the
opportunity. Why? Because they want to be with that person – it has nothing
to do with worshipping with other believers.
Three of the items listed are related –
“without love”, “unforgiving” and “slanderous”.
A person with sincere love will have the capacity to forgive others
(as God has forgiven them), and an intentional effort to avoid saying
bad things about others. Many are guilty of slander because they
want to build themselves up by belittling others, or it could be a
byproduct of jealousy. We can see this when we make a compliment
about someone and the person we are talking to says,
“Yeah, but did you know…(something derogatory)”.
The movie industry doesn’t help as it tries to convince the masses
that love is only equated to sex. The news media doesn’t help either,
as it falsely reports information that is detrimental to people who
disagree with their opinions.
“Treacherous” and “rash” are loosely connected as we see people
ending up in perilous situations, because they failed to use the
wisdom God has given man which separates us from the animals.
“lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” points to misdirected
love. It is an attitude of pleasing self rather than pleasing God. As
long as God fits into their desires and plans, they will include Him,
but if requires a sacrifice or an inconvenience, then He is left out.
That is not a love of God!
It makes sense that the very next item he lists is,
“having a form of Godliness but denying its power”.
He is pointing to hypocrites, which are people who talk and act like
Christians but have refused to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to
enter their lives and change them on the inside (a change that causes
them to make God the top priority in their lives).
Without the power of the Holy Spirit, a person is ready to justify
or debate (sometimes vehemently) their disobedience of God’s
commands. With the Holy Spirit in control, a person looks forward
to, and finds joy in obeying commands like, worshipping with others
and ‘returning’ a portion (minimum of one-tenth) of what He has given
us.
By no means is the intent of this devotional to indicate that the
return of Jesus is near. However, we can see from the ‘indicators’
listed by Paul that we should not be surprised if He returns at
any time.
Even so, when you see all these things,
you know that it is near, right at the door.
(Matthew 24:33)
ACTION:
Are you living each day as if you expected the return of Jesus?
So you also must be ready, because the
Son of Man will come at an hour when
you do not expect him. (Matthew 24:44)
If you could know when He would return and it would happen
ten days from now, what would you do differently? Why not
make those changes now and start enjoying a close relationship
with Him and other believers?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I am thankful for Your promise that Jesus
will return and take all believers to our eternal home. Forgive
me for defiantly disobeying some of your commands that do
not fit my lifestyle and desires. I pray that the Holy Spirit will
fill me so that I no longer worship on my own terms, but on
Yours. I want to live a life with complete trust that You will
bless and take care of me whenever I obey Your command
to tithe. I am tired of watching others having a relationship
with You that, due to my own selfishness, I am missing out on.
I have procrastinated long enough, so I ask You to help me
make the changes needed to behave more like a child of Yours.”
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