Copyright 2012: singeronthesand
Don't be naive. There are difficult times ahead.
As the end approaches, people are going to be
self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up,
profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse,
dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild,
savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags,
addicted to lust, and allergic to God.
2 Timothy 3:1-3 [The Message]
At first blush, this laundry list of undesirable traits is a perfect description of many A-listers in the world today - celebrities, movie stars, politicians, jet setters, playboys, a few world leaders, and many of the wannabes in each category. The fact that this depiction was written by the Apostle Paul sometime after AD 63 makes its current aptness even more amazing. If the Apostle were alive today, however, he would laugh at the very idea that his words so aptly described the people on The Hot List. After all, he was not describing the people of the world, but the people in the church.
Yes, that's right, in the church. Paul's ending advice in this passage was: They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes, they're animals. Stay clear of these people. The above portrayal is not about the godless people of the world, but the God-pretending people who make a show of religion, but do not have the changed life, clean character, and humble compassion that only comes through a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.
Obviously Paul is not talking about everyone in the church, or his congregations as well as ours would be hopeless indeed. The question that begs to be answered this morning in my little part of the world is this:
Are these words in any way describing me?
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