2 Timothy 3:1-9
(Use the link below to read the verses.)
Mary
Tyler Moore passed away recently. Although she was primarily known for her
starring role in the series The Mary Tyler Moore Show, I remember her
first from The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 60’s.
You
may recall that, in the series, she and Dick Van Dyke, her husband, slept in
twin beds. This was due to the TV censors of the day. Over 50 years later, can
you imagine that same scenario for a couple today; married or not? My how times
have changed.
I
bring this up not to bemoan how bad things are today, or to pine for the “good
old days”, but to make a point. How did we get to where we are today? The
answer: It was
little by little. It’s kind of like waking up one morning and
weighing yourself only to find that you are 25 pounds overweight. It didn’t
happen overnight.
You know, to make sure you don’t wake up one morning and you’re 25 pounds overweight.
In
the passage today, Paul warned Timothy to watch out for the following:
But mark this: There will
be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving,
slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having
a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. NIV
The
problem with this list is that there are all these little in-between steps that
lead up to the behavior, and most of us can get caught up in any one of them.
So instead of a list to watch for in others, it really is a list to watch for
in ourselves.
You know, to make sure you don’t wake up one morning and you’re 25 pounds overweight.
(If
God has spoken to you through this devotional, please feel free to share it
with others.)
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