“But understand this, that in the last days there will come
times of difficulty. For
people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous,
without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen
with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the
appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” 2
Timothy 3:1-5
I am aging. I
remember when life was very different. I
am at that point when I catch myself saying, “when I was young...” It is amusing to watch my oldest as I
describe a day without cell phones, internet, and twenty-four hour cartoons. It is a world she can barely imagine for it
is so foreign to her.
As I was reading scripture this morning, I came
across a prophetic passage, one which described a world that, as a child, I
could not have imagined. I am not trying
to imply that during my childhood sin was not widespread and the Prince of the
Air was not at work. On the contrary, I
believe that the work he was doing then led to the world in which we live. Despite this reality, I think most can agree
that in the world today sin has become unrestrained and epidemic in
nature.
The world and the culture in America has become that
which we could not have anticipated but one which scripture predicted. The second book of Timothy, in the beginning
of the third chapter describes people as, “…lovers of self, lovers of money,
proud, arrogant, abusive…. without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than
lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power...”
Realize my brothers and sisters, that we live the
last days and that which we see in the world around us is what was
prophesied. Let us draw near to our Lord
and rally around His banner, for we must be the ones who confronts the culture
of sin and rebels against the accepted status quo.