Is God Still in Control?

I am not sure what God considers the last days, but to me, it sure seems that we are approaching those days rather quickly. As I read 2 Timothy 3:1-5, it appears that the Apostle Paul is describing our time:

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

The last days will have difficult times. Doesn’t that describe us? Pandemic, political issues, taking sides, churches falling apart, leaders that have no business being leaders but they have stepped into a vacuum. There is fear, anger, and a host of other emotions.

People will be lovers of self. We are living in a time when “it’s all about me.” When this country was founded, men and women fought and died for family, friends, and neighbors. Today the average person isn’t willing to die for anyone. We don’t take a family portrait, we take a selfie.

We have a love for self, money… and we show it by our boasting and arrogance. It is not about others and their needs, but it’s about getting ahead and it typically doesn’t matter who we step on and hurt to get where we want to go.

ARE YOU ACTING AS A REVILER?

This is why the next item on the list is so real today: revilers. What is a reviler? Webster says it is “to subject to verbal abuse.” Another dictionary declares “to revile is to criticize in an abusive or hostile way, or to spread negative information about.” In the Bible, we see a reviler in this way: “A reviler is a person who uses words to damage, control, or insult someone’s character or reputation.” ¹

The people that should be leading us have turned into some of the biggest revilers. Their goal is to control those that disagree with them, and if that doesn’t work, they seek to damage others to the point of destroying the person that gets in their way.

HAVE YOU LEARNED TO BE CONTENT?

They are ungrateful. Our poor are wealthier than approximately 90% of the world. Epicurus wrote, “Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” Paul echoed this sentiment when he wrote, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” ² Have you learned to be content? Most of us haven’t.

Lack of self-control is destroying our country. We eat and drink too much. We don’t know how to say “no” to evil, and the above list is proof that we are living in a time that is racing for the end without concern for the consequences. As these difficult days are approaching, we must continue to trust the God who is in control even when it doesn’t look like it.

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