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 NIV

I am sure you have often heard it said that we are in the end times.  There are many passages in the Bible that point to this very fact.  This is one such passage.  Now of course none of us know how long the end times will last.  To say that we are in the end times is basically saying that as each day passes we are one day closer to the end.  You may read this particular scripture passage and think how awful the world is these days.  The sad thing is that this scripture passage also describes many church members of today.

I challenge you today to read and re-read this scripture passage.  Turn it into a checklist for yourself first and then for your friends or acquaintances.  Do you suffer from pride?  Do you love yourself just a bit too much, are you boastful and proud?  Do you love money?  You know many people believe that scripture tells us that money is the root of all evil, but actually it says that the love of money is the root of all evil.  Do you let money get in your way of serving God as you should?  Are you abusive?  Now remember abusive can be not only physically but mentally or emotionally.  Are you disobedient to your parents?  We are to honor our parents not only as children but as long as they live.  The Bible doesn’t set a time frame for honoring our parents.  It’s a life long commitment.

Are you ungrateful?  I have found myself at times in a pattern of praying to God with a lot of grumbling, moaning, whining, complaining and asking him to give me this and give me that.  I have asked him to change all those around me to make my life better, when I was the one who needed to change.  I have learned that no matter what I am going through, I have a reason to praise God and to thank him for all He has done in my life.  Just like you don’t want to hear a lot of whining, neither does God. Everyday of our life we have something to be grateful to God for and we must always be mindful of the good in our life.  Satan likes to constantly remind us of what God is not doing for us.  I have learned that if God is not doing something for me that I asked for, that it is for my own good and I should be thankful that he saves me from my foolish desires.

Are you unholy? Wow, this covers a lot of stuff!  Do you put God first? Do you seek His advice in all that you do? Do you feel his presence in your life?

Are you without love?  We see so many people walking around today with hatred in their hearts.  They have no love for themselves or anyone else.  Sadly this brings them into unforgiveness and slanderous behavior.  People who don’t love others can’t forgive others.  Sadly for them, the Bible very clearly tells us that if we can’t forgive others, Christ can’t forgive us.  I work hard at forgiving others because I have so many things I have asked God to forgive me for.

Are you without self-control?  This is a slippery slope here.  Is your drinking out of control? Is your eating out of control? Is your tongue out of control?  This covers a bunch of sins.  Be careful of this one.

Are you brutal? Are your words and actions towards others harsh and uncaring?  If you are living without love, probably so.

Do you love the good?  Do you seek and love everything that is good, meaning everything from God?  Many of us don’t want to admit that we seek what is evil and wicked.  This falls in line with unforgiveness.  If you can’t forgive someone, chances are you have evil thoughts towards them. Chances are you are bitter towards them.  Chances are you are happy when you see them suffer.  The Bible tells us that bitterness grieves the Holy Spirit.  Pray to God to help rid you of bitterness.  He can help you forgive and He can help end your bitter feelings.  You have not because you ask not.

Are you treacherous? The dictionary defines treacherous as guilty of or involving betrayal or deception.  Can you be trusted?

Are you rash in your decision making?  Do you plow ahead with what you want to do without carefully considering the possible consequences of your actions?

Do you love pleasure more than you love God?  For many years, I suffered with this and did not even know it.  I considered myself a Christian, but if Sunday rolled around and I had a chance to go boating or do something fun and skip church, well fun won.  For years I thought I was having a good time, but I was leading a miserable life.  I suddenly realized that having fun meant putting God first.  Since I have put God first, I have a lot more pleasure in my life.  It’s a different kind of pleasure. I have the pleasure of studying God’s word on Sunday morning.  I have the pleasure of seeing 3 and 4 year olds memorize  Bible verses and come to know about God in an AWANA class.  These things have brought me so much more joy than the empty life of partying that I lead years ago.

Do you have a form of Godliness but deny it’s power?  Just as I mentioned, I called myself a Christian before.  I believed in God.  I had no idea of His power.  It took me a while but I finally figured out that through God’s power I could do anything.  Through God’s power my miserable life could work out for my good.  I finally realized that through God’s power things could work for my good and God’s glory.

Once we start living for God and focusing on Him and His presence in our life, it is amazing to watch God work.  I now have the peace in my life that comes from knowing that God is present in my life.  He will never leave me.  I know that I may step away from Him, but He never steps away from me.  I know that even when things don’t work out as I had hoped and planned, that He is working all things for my good and for His glory.  I am grateful for all things, even those that don’t go my way because I know that just means that God has a greater plan for me.

I know this is a lengthy challenge.  Maybe you should study if over the course of a few days.  None of us know whether we have another minute on earth or another number of years.  I encourage you today to remove any thing or attitude that may be causing you to sin and separating you from God.  If you are struggling in these areas and aren’t sure how to start correcting these behaviors, feel free to contact me through this website.

Now the last verse in this scripture tells us to have nothing to do with such people.  This is pretty harsh, but it is what it is.  The Bible never minces words.  If you run through this checklist and realize that it describes a friend or acquaintance then you must separate yourself from this person.  Invite them to church, share devotions with them but if they refuse to change their ways then you must move on.

So look at this scripture passage, use it as a checklist for yourself and your associates.  I know it’s a lot to consider but if you suffer from any of these problems, you will be glad you corrected them. I know I am glad I corrected these issues in myself.  I also know that at times it is a daily struggle, but with God’s power I know I can win!

Have a great day!