2 Timothy 3:3 - not loving good

“The Lover”

(2 Timothy 3:3, December 11, 2011)

1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.

2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, ...

not loving good,

Jesus spoke of the generation at the end of the Old Testament era as a “wicked generation.” When a society is facing moral decline and insists on being separate from God and His ways, that society will begin to fall apart. This may be the case in a particular place when the decline is just a regional or national development. But eventually the time will come for the entire New Testament era to be over. Throughout the labor pains of this era, there will be problems with people, even inside the church. But when the entire structure of international society is falling apart, shouldn't we expect to see an intensification of difficulties? Abnormal developments are associated with societal disintegration. What will it be like just before the return of the Lord? Sane people should love what is good, but when everything is falling apart, people will not love what is good.

What is good? Jesus said that only God is good. Surely God must be the ultimate judge of what is good. In the ten commandments we have a statement of His moral law, but if ten categories are two many to think about, how about two? Love God with your whole being, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the good way. But what will a society do when the love of God is seen as a moral evil, and when the language of sacrificial living for another comes into conflict with a perceived higher duty to self? What if the church, which worships God through the Christ who led us in the way of self-denial, becomes so confused, that self-denial no longer even seems right?

The Lord, the premier lover of good

Jesus loved the good. He loved His Father with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. He also loved His neighbor. In fact, He was willing to give up His life for those who would be counted as the children of God. His life and death were a fulfillment of the Law of love.

How can the Lord love me?

But I have not been good. How can the Lord love me? What does He see in me?

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ is the Lover of the church.

We are called now to follow Him. We, of course, are called to do what should come naturally, to love what is good. This may be increasingly difficult in a world that rejects this concept.

But we must go beyond this, we must love when goodness seems to be evaporating away from our marriages, our families, our churches, and our communities. We must remain committed to serve those who may be very confused about loving God and neighbor. We must serve others out of reverence for the One who died for unlovely me.