Perilous Times...

Perilous times… times that are troublesome, dangerous and even hard to bear.  These are the times we are living in today!

2 Timothy 3:1-5

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

~ Lovers of their own self:  This speaks of vanity, conceit and selfishness.  It is define by having a mind-set of thinking of one's self more highly than one ought. This is often expressed by how one talks, dresses and acts.  Sometimes, I think a person can possess these characteristics without even being aware of all that it involves completely. As Christians, we are in the world but not of it.  So, we should talk, act and dress DIFFERENTLY than the world.  I could really go on a tangent here about dressing becomingly and modestly.  I have noticed that women seem to struggle with this more than men.  In a society that tells us we need to look flawless and beautiful, it influences women to try to hide the imperfections and "beautify" themselves.  God created you to be beautiful the way you are… you don't have to "beautify" yourselves.  No, you may not look perfect according to the world's standards.  But, we should measure ourselves against the Word of God & His standards, not the world's.

~ Covetous:  In this verse this translates to "loving money".  This old adage says, "Money can't buy happiness".  True happiness and joy comes from God.  Money can buy a lot of things and seemingly takes you a lot of places, but, it will not be a long-lasting comfort and happiness.  The love of money is the root of all kinds evil.  (1 Timothy 6:10)

~ Boasters:  A boaster is someone who has excessive pride in themselves and brag and exaggerates about themselves and their own accomplishments.  The Greek Lexicon defines a boaster as "an empty pretender".

~ Proud:  Most of us know what it means to be proud.  A proud person thinks of themselves as above other's and show themselves to be so.  They can go to the extent of despising others and even treating them with contempt, worthlessness or disrespect.  They can also have a haughty or snobbish attitude.

~ Blasphemers:  Blasphemers are known for speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive things to or about others with the intent to hurt, harm or discredit them.  Sometimes they do these things to make themselves look better and gain fame or rapport with someone else.

~ Disobedient to parents:  Disobedient is pretty self-explanatory.  But, some synonyms are haughty, rebellious, stubborn, unyielding, not persuaded and not compliant. 

~ Unthankful:  This is another one that is self-explanatory.  But, it is being ungrateful, thoughtless, inappreciative and careless.

~ Unholy:  Being unholy can cover a wide spectrum of things.  It is being corrupt or evil in all manner of conversation or actions.  It is being dishonest and deceitful.  It involves being unrighteous and going against the guidelines and principles in the Word of God for our lives.

~ Without natural affection:  The Greek Lexicon defines this as unsociable, unloving and inhuman.  Loving others is not always easy, but it is a commandment given to us by Jesus.  "Love one another as I have loved you".  This means to love unconditionally.  All souls matter and deserve to know the love of God… even through us.

~ Trucebreakers:  The Greek Lexicon defines this are implacable.  Which means uncompromising, ruthless, unforgiving, remorseless and resentful.  More often than not, these are the underlying things that cause problems in friendships and marriages.  And, it can wreak havoc in a church.

~ False accusers:  This is when someone is prone to slander and accuse falsely.  I found it interesting in the Greek Lexicon it mentioned that metaphorically it is applied to a person who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him. 

~ Incontinent: This pertains to someone who is without self-control and some-what wayward.  They can be unconstrained in the way they act and speak.  They can also tend to cause trouble and be out-of-line.

~ Fierce:  This describes someone who is not tame.  They are unruly, harsh, angry and behave just downright awfully.

~ Despisers of those that are good:  These are the ones that are opposed to goodness and good people.  They try to stand in the way or hinder those that are trying their best to be the godly person God is calling them to be.   They will act against or provide resistant to them.  Sometimes they can even go to the point of falsely accusing or fabricating things to derail someone else.

~ Traitors:  In others words, this refers to those who backstab, plot against someone else or collaborate against someone else.  They will act as friend to your face, but behind your back it is a whole other story.  They  have a façade of acting one way in front of certain people but they act another way in front of others. 

~ Heady:  Heady people are headstrong, quarrelsome and sometimes arrogant.  They don't really take time to think before they act or speak.   The Greek Lexicon define it as "to fall forwards".  Which reminds me of the scripture Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." 

~ High-minded:  Being high-minded is to be puffed up with haughtiness or pride.  It can also be used to describe when someone puts up a smokescreen and obscures the view of others, preventing them from seeing who they really are when no one else is around.  They over-compensate by excessively building themselves up.

~ Lovers of pleasure more that lovers of God:  This is loving the thrill and satisfaction (though it is temporary) that the world gives and provides over being a lover of God and the things of God.  Priorities become distorted and the things and friends of this world become more important to a person than pleasing God and following His Word.

~ Having a form or godliness but denying the power thereof:  This can be a tough one, at times, to pinpoint.  Because it involves someone putting up a façade of holiness.  They can look, act and speak like they are righteous and holy, but underneath it all they are not.  And, in doing so, they are unknowingly depriving themselves of so much spiritually.  They are, in fact, denying themselves the very power of God to be effectively working in their lives. 

The final admonishment of these scriptures says, "from such turn away."  We are advised to turn ourselves away from or avoid these things.  Now, you can avoid someone who has any of these characteristics without be rude or judgmental.  You can still unconditionally love and be kind to someone even if they are not lining up with God's Word.  How?  Look throughout the New Testament in the Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John), Jesus did it all the time!  We are in this world, but not of it.  Sure we have to exist in this world and put up with and bear through some things.  But that doesn't define who we are!  My advice is to pray and search His Word… OFTEN… for answers.  Life is not easy.  Dealing with difficult and toxic people is not easy.  But, it is necessary if we are going to do what is says in Jude 1:20-23, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."  In observing others, I have realized that more often than not, people don't even realize to what extent these characteristics control them.  It is not the people that we hate or despise.  It is what they have allowed clothed themselves in.  It is the cloak of deception that the devil has placed on them.  God has had compassion and mercy on you.  Don't you think they deserve they same opportunity?  As ambassadors of Him, we are to think, act & speak in a way that is pleasing and acceptable to Him.  In order to do this, we must build ourselves up spiritually through prayer.  And, not just simple little prayers, but prayers full of the power of Holy Ghost.  Praying in the Spirit is essential when it comes to breaking the chains of these characteristics that bind ourselves and others.   Keep yourself focused on God and realize the unfathomable love He has for us… while we were yet sinners, He died for us!

These are perilous, dangerous and desperate times we live in… it requires desperate measures on our part.  It is time for us, the people of God, to step it up and making sure we are in-line with God and His Word so that we can help those that needing His power in their lives.