2 Timothy 3:1-4 Amplified version
3 But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].
2 For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.
3 [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.
4 [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.
I was working in the kitchen, getting things ready for the morning when heard the news about all the sales for "Black Friday". Some have been camping out in front of stores since yesterday morning! It used to be that stores would not decorate for Christmas or advertise for Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving. Is anyone truly thankful?
Can we not just take even ONE day to set aside and thank GOD for all He has given us and how He has blessed us? Instead people are lined up, camped out, elbowing their way toward the front of a line to buy something that probably don't need with money they don't have.
Those words from Paul to Timothy came to mind as I was working in the kitchen. "in the last days difficult times will come... " . Look at how Paul describes them and see if they don't sound like today! "lovers of self, lovers of money.... ungrateful, unholy....". Seeing this fleshed out before my eyes makes me both scared and sad. Scared because things really are getting worse, and our society has lost its moral footing. There is no fear of God, there is no more decency, no modesty, no common courtesy (or at least very little of these things!). It makes me sad because God has given us so much. He gives us life and breath every day! He makes the sun rise and set. He sets the starts in place. He changes times and seasons. We think we've done it all! How foolish are we?
In Paul's letter to the Romans chapter 1 he says,
"They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles."
My husband preached on giving thanks last Sunday. One thing he mentioned was that sometimes we need to be thankful for things like hunger and thirst, for when we truly know hunger and thirst then we are truly grateful for food and drink. We (I) should be thankful for what we have but also for what we lack because God is working in our hearts to be truly blessed and truly thankful.
I am thankful. I am blessed. I am glad I will be with family tomorrow, relaxing, giving thanks and not camping out on hard cement to get my hands on some new toy. God has given me/us so much.
Let us give thanks!
