“But know this: hard times will come in the last days.”
That’s Paul’s warning to Timothy in Paul’s second letter to his young friend. (2 Timothy 3:1) These are Paul’s last recorded words before his execution. Sort of his “last will and testament” if you will.
After the warning cited above, Paul cites a list of sins which will become more common as Christ’s return nears. (When the Bible records a list of sins for which people will be judged, the lists are never exhaustive, but representative of those sins which are/will be prevalent.)
A cursory reading of Paul’s list begs the question, “Hasn’t it always been this way? Lovers of money, pride, slander, etc?”
Yep. But two sins stand out to me, personally, shining like neon lights.
First: “disobedient to parents.” (2 Tim 3:2)
I spent 24 years in full-time youth ministry. Sometimes I’m asked, “What do you see different now in teens than when you started out?” Without hesitation, I reply, “Disrespect for authority.”
If you widen “disrespect for parents” to the contemporary context of school teachers it makes sense why news outlets everywhere regularly cite the mass exodus of teachers who are quitting due to hostile, sometimes even life-threatening, words and actions of students toward their teachers and administrators.
One thousand teachers quit the first four months of the present school year in Arizona. In Texas, the number of “uncertified” teachers tripled in the last five years due to many certified teachers who’ve finally said, “I’ve had enough.” I read of one teacher on Reddit who heartbreakingly confessed, “My job is killing me.”
Second is a sin Paul mentions a few verses later. It’s found in 2 Timothy 4:3 where Paul writes to Timothy,
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine (sound, biblical teaching), but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.”
To tolerate something suggests you disagree with whatever you’re being forced to tolerate. As such, that’s nothing new. We all tolerate opposing opinions from time to time. It’s a part of life.
But here’s where the ethos has taken a dramatic turn.
In the past, “tolerance” still carried with it respect for the opposing side. Today? Just the opposite.
Those who champion “tolerance” tolerate nothing that opposes them. An opposing opinion, rather than met with respect, is met with vitriol and condescending accusation intended to shame the poor soul who would dare offer an opposing opinion (it’s no wonder Paul includes “demeaning” in sins permeating our culture as Jesus’ return nears). Their behavior is the epitome of hypocrisy, intolerance, and bigotry. Alas, their hubris blinds them to this.
About these people, Paul continues,…
“…but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.”
Rather than respectfully hearing the other side, even if they strongly disagree, the norm is to “cancel” all opposing opinions and “multiply teachers for themselves” i.e. talking heads on the national media, celebrities, etc., to attempt not to silence the opposition, but to eradicate them altogether.
I’m not a “the sky is falling” guy. But, I can’t help but continue to watch the prophecy of scripture play out as God “moves the chess pieces into place” for his return. One day it will be “checkmate.”
Three times in the last chapter of the Bible, Jesus says, in essence, “I’m on my way.” (22:7, 12, 20)
Maranatha, Nick