“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.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5
Devotional Thought For The Day
We are warned, in numerous passages of Holy Scripture, as to how the “last days” will be. We have experienced all of the things described above throughout our lives over the past 70 years. World War II was caused by these dynamics and was one of the most wretched and heartless expressions of the moral degeneracy of humanity. What was our “cultural” response to this horror, this world-wide destruction? To plunge ourselves into love of self, love of money, love of pleasure, hypocrisy, pride, arrogance, disobedience and disrespect of authorities, ingratitude, abusiveness and incivility, unholiness and rejection of what is good, all kinds of heartlessness, and brutality. It is true that for the most part this is all that we have experienced – except perhaps for those who grew up in deeply Christian and pious families and within the fellowship of a genuinely conserving Christian church, but even these people have had to live in the “world” and interact with people who know no other “normalcy” than this wretchedness. This is why we have the intractable social problems we are facing today, why things have unraveled and become as dark and desperate as they are for so many people today. The response of “government,” those granted the power to address social ills, has been typical of the past; instead of advocating for greater godliness they actually encourage and attempt to “moderate” these very evils. Even our Supreme Court has capitulated, in many instances.
We should understand – all of this is nothing new. It has existed in the world throughout its history, and from the time of Christ it has continued to grow worse and worse – although there have been periods of greater hypocrisy and external piety. The solution urged and encouraged and insisted upon in the apostolic era of the church remains the only proper solution today – that Christians, those who know and believe the love that God has for us, and who know the beauty and superiority of living lives of love, must be different, counter-cultural, above the darkness, providing witness to and a pattern for others that there is a better way, the way of repentance, faith, and decency. As we raise our children we see first-hand the power and pervasiveness of the darkness – as they too rebel and try to sort out who to believe, who to follow, and what values to embrace and live by. If we offer them no alternative to the worldly way we should not be surprised if they capitulate to the darkness. And even offering, teaching, and modeling a different way, the way of Christ, it will be a struggle and a battle. We must be patient with them – it has taken us a while to grow in understanding and perspective. But it should be apparent that we must be different, that those living in the glory of God’s love, His gracious mercy and forgiveness, simply cannot embrace and remain willing participants in the moral squalor of this world.
In our earlier days American society at least superficially mimicked Christian values, but this endured for a very short time. As the culture moves more dramatically into the darkness – and this wretched immorality becomes the cultural norm, it should be easier for us to be counter cultural, and the way of Christianity should become more readily distinguishable from the ways of this sinful world. This should help us, both in understanding and compelling good choices in how we live, and in reaching out to others with the witness of God’s love. We’ll have to get past our anger and indignation, and grow in genuine love and compassion for others, and patience in witnessing to them about Christ, and the love of the only True and Living God. Included in this is our continuing witness to our children and grandchildren – who also need our patience, compassion, and love. And we have the promise of God, that just as He has powerfully grasped us and brought us the renewal of His love – in the midst of a corrupt and perverse generation, so too He has the power and will to do the same for people today, tomorrow, and until the Last Day. So let us continue growing in faith and genuine godliness, and continue forward in constancy, knowing the blessedness of what is coming and yearning for it!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help us to continue growing in perspective and wisdom so that we be prepared to live fruitfully in these dark times. Keep us in repentance and faith, and growing in commitment to greater godliness. Preserve us from capitulating to the evils around us. Bless us to remain in Your kingdom so that we too may experience the full blessedness to come. Amen.