Difficult Times Will Come

Difficult Times Will Come-

1 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; Avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3 New American Standard Bible

Part 1:

The verses that have inspired me to write tonight are to be found in 2 Timothy 3:5-7: Holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power....so many today find 'power' in many things that are not godly. In this era of the Internet, everyone writing is a self-proclaimed expert on this remedy or that formula. Mysticism has crept in to the church in various forms to the point people find themselves worrying about missing 'this' secret cure or 'that' key to why life is out of control. Many women are drawn in to this, and without discernment, the waters of godliness can quickly become murky. Are we sure we can determine what is a 'form' of godliness vs. true godliness? I can assure you of this, being convinced of something isn't necessarily the way to tell, nor is having a 'personal conviction'.

 

It was not long ago I asked my husband, who God has graciously given the gifts of wisdom and discernment to, about whether people can have false 'personal convictions'. He seemed a tad surprised at my asking, immediately responding that yes, of course, and that is how most cults begin--a false personal conviction. That gave me pause, and made sense. We need God's word to guide and direct us.

Part 2:

"weak women captivated, always learning but never coming to the knowledge of truth"

...this is my loose paraphrase but it encompasses what I long to warn Christian women about. We are often weak minded. We are easily led astray. Psychological reasoning resonates with us and we justify sometimes questionable ideas because part of it may make good, common sense. We women often lack the logical side of thinking, and if we are extroverted, we do not think deeply, enough, seeking the truth from God's word. I'm not down on women: I am one and I'm raising two. But I see what the gentler sex struggles with and the older I get the pattern has not changed, especially with young women. I'm also not down on extroverts, but the reality is that introverts are the deeper thinkers among us. 

It is not men of homeschooling wives who spend hoards of hours pouring over various methods of education and various curricula for YEARS on end-- debating, questioning, critiquing...it is women, and usually those that can talk for days about such things struggle to actually "come to the knowledge of the truth". Do the hard work, pick something and do it, every day.

 

In closing, please be wise and careful with who you get advice from and who you spend a lot of time with.