“But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. For people will be…
- lovers of self – we are the selfie generation.
- lovers of money – bigger house, nicer car…it’s all we’re living for. Promotion, please, the Jones’ are ahead of me.
- boastful – there are those who boast outright and then those who do it subtly with the “I don’t like to take the credit…” or “I usually wouldn’t say this about myself…” or “Let me just tell you what I told them…”
- proud – we like to call it confidence, but if it ain’t confidence in the blood of Jesus that covers our sin…it’s probably confidence in ourselves.
- blasphemers – Even Christians often have no problem using the name of God and of Jesus without weight and meaning. Jokes abound about the Bible…about the sacrifice of Jesus…about the character of God.
- disobedient to parents – we’ve made this one a little too easy with our psychology books…I mean, after all, we might traumatize them with “no”.
- ungrateful – in the age of “rights” and “I deserve”, gratitude has flown out the window.
- unholy – NOTHING sacred. Everything, even in the Church, is often done carelessly and without any fear of the Lord. Many of us will be very surprised when we meet the God of the Old Testament on judgment day.
- unloving – when people can stand by and idly watch/video senseless beatings, killings, and general crime without attempting to set things right…when we can keep truth in our back pocket because the only thing that can save might also offend…when we can ignore the plight of the poor and the orphan and the downtrodden… we can definitely wear this label.
- irreconcilable – the most popular divorce cause of the day is “irreconcilable differences”.
- slanderers – I think I could just stop here with mainstream American journalism…not all of it…but certainly most.
- without self-control – instant gratification is the order of the day. We want food and we want it now. Supply and demand determine everything and marketing is the biggest money maker. We live without thought of tomorrow all right. We live for the day, the moment even… and we all think it’s cool…until all those days and moments catch up with us and we must pay the piper.
- brutal – every day there is a story about some brutal attack or killing…we have ceased being shocked at how ruthless people can be. And if you can’t find one of those stories, there is always the 3600 babies each day that are slaughtered in the womb in our country…not reported on the news, but none the less brutal.
- without love for what is good – a friend posted words to a song today “I wanna go to a place where I am suspended in ecstasy Some where between dark and light Where wrong becomes right.” Not only do we not love good, we want the bad to be the good.
- traitors – don’t even get me started on the politics… ya’ll know we will be here all night. Suffice it to say, traitors ABOUND.
- reckless – if you know a more reckless generation in history, do tell. When we have to remind people not to post pictures of themselves while driving and make laws against it…when we have to condemned the swallowing of spoonfuls of cinnamon and planking on top of buildings…when we risk our lives for highs never meant to belong to humans, we are forgetting our mission.
- conceited – having or showing an excessively high opinion of your own qualities or abilities. You may not say it, but you think it.
- lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – let’s just wrap the whole of American culture into this one perfectly descriptive phrase.
- holding to the form of godliness but denying its power – religion is saturating us. “Christians” abound. There is a church on EVERY corner in most of our cities. But WHERE IS THE POWER?
Avoid these people!” 2 Timothy 3:1-5
So what does a saint look like in these last days on this earth? Maybe the antonym of the traits mentioned above…
- Selfless – thinking of others first and consistently putting the needs of others before our own
- Generous – using the blessings of the Lord to bless others around us. Seeing money as a tool for Kingdom use.
- Modest – hesitating to draw attention to ourselves and our achievements
- Humble – showing respect or deference to other people
- Reverent – speaking of the things and creations of Christ with the highest respect and regard for His Name and His Kingdom
- Obedient to Parents – teaching our children that obeying earthly parents is the greatest practice for obeying Christ
- Thankful – realizing we are UNDESERVING of EVERYTHING we have been given and giving thanks in EVERYTHING
- Holy – thinking and acting like we are set apart and living differently from the world
- Loving – being the shoulder to cry on, the voice of truth, the hand for the hurting, the help for the needy
- Merciful – forgiving as we have been forgiven
- Encouraging – lifting the lonely, the exhausted, the angry, the hateful with words of praise
- Patient – living the investment life and rejecting the god of instant gratification
- Compassionate – walking in another’s shoes with them
- Lovers of Good…and only good – fleeing every appearance of evil and celebrating only the goodness of God
- Loyal – standing by our friends and even by our enemies
- Cautious – watching carefully for the nets the enemy has spread for our feet and staying on alert
- Meek – submitting ourselves under the Mighty Hand of God
- Lovers of GOD – desiring His Name and His Renown more than any other thing
- Godly with Power – holding onto His every Word in obedience which brings the power
No, we aren’t perfect, but we are moving toward one list OR the other.