Sound Familiar?

2 Timothy 3 (NIV)
Godlessness in the Last Days

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

2 Timothy 3 (The Message)
Difficult Times Ahead

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. They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals. Stay clear of these people.

These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them; women who, depressed by their sinfulness, take up with every new religious fad that calls itself "truth." They get exploited every time and never really learn. These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres, who challenged Moses. They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth itself. But nothing will come of these latest impostors. Everyone will see through them, just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax.

Sound familiar? Each time that I read and meditate on this passage of Scriptures, my spirit is moved. To consider that these Words were penned so many years ago yet remain current in their descriptions of our society, is truly a testament to the relevance of God's Word for all times. These passages read like today's newspapers. Self-consumed people focused on themselves and what pleasures them, versus focusing on God's Word and His plan for their lives, is common.

Take a moment and studiously read these passages from the NIV and The Message versions of the Bible. May we each take a highlighter and highlight the descriptive phrases that could have been written specifically to describe our actions or our behaviors. After we have completed this task in self-examination, let us each take the time to pray for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to eradicate these negative traits that drive a stake into the heart of Jesus each time we fail Him and disobey His advice for our daily living.

Another way of meditating on these Scriptures might be to write, "As God's child, I shall ...." and then insert the polar opposite of each descriptive term or passage from these wise words written in 2 Timothy. "As God's child, I shall have self-control." "As God's child, I shall be a lover of God." I believe if each of us will study these life-giving Words and strive to refocus our lives in obedience to God, that our lives will shine brightly in a very dark world. And Heaven knows that this world needs to see The Light.