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 such people.  – 2 Timothy 3:1-5

I’ve never experienced anything like this school year.  In general, it seemed in the past that I might hear of the death of a student that I’ve taught every couple of years.  This year, in three short months, I’ve seen the behaviors described in these verses affect so many lives.  People lose their minds over nothing.

I believe we are becoming like the book of Judges.  When you read this book, it points out that “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”  You read of the most atrocious behavior when you read that book.  In the past nine weeks, I have seen and heard things that I never thought I’d see.  I’m sure these behaviors have been prevalent somewhere; I just never thought I’d see them with such frequency in my little corner of South Carolina.  Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention.

The worst part of it all is that there is a form of godliness.  Most of the people around here will say they believe in God yet display many characteristics in the above verses.  The follower of Jesus must ask that these characteristics be dealt with in their own hearts and minds.  They must become poor in spirit and ask God to make them more like Him.  When we don’t, we are simply denying that there is power in the cross, power in the blood of Jesus, and power in the Holy Spirit to truly make changes in people.  There is either newness of life in Jesus Christ . . . or there is not.

Let’s you and I read through this list nice and slowly today.  Ask God, “Am I a lover of myself?”  Go through each one and be brutally honest.  You may, like me, have to look up a couple of the words.  As, like me, you answer “yes” to more of these than you’d like to admit . . . ask God for the power to change.  Ask Him to make you part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Let’s not deny God’s power.  After all, nothing is impossible with God (See Luke 1:37)

Lord, I pray for myself first of all.  I need You in my life.  I need You to burn off attitudes, burn off spiritual laziness, and purify my heart and mind.  I pray for those who read this.  May they pray the same things I’m praying.  Lord, You don’t need us, but I believe you absolutely want to use us in bringing as many people with us to heaven as possible.  Help us have the right conversations with the right people.  Let us, Your people, called by Your Name, humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways.  For then, You will hear from heaven, You will forgive our sin, and You will heal our land.  Please heal our land, Lord.  Amen.