Influence
By Julia Fowler, Worship Arts Pastor
Text: 2 Timothy 3:1-9
Godlessness in the Last Days
“1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”
I realize the weight of this text is far more than I can address in a single devotional, however after reading through this last letter of Paul’s again today I am prompted to point out one small details within the whole.
In this letter Paul is giving some advice to young Timothy (a new preacher and witness for Christ). In chapter 3 Paul strongly encourages Timothy to be careful about the types of people he chooses to build relationships with. Paul, of all people, understood the importance of witnessing to everyone and obviously that meant hanging in places where non-believers would be. But the advice he is giving Timothy here is more about guarding himself from people who will drag Him down into the pit with them. He is reminding Timothy that he needs to guard his heart and recognize that there are some people who are really pretty rotten through and through. Now that is really hard for me to hear because I want to see the hopefulness in everyone! But again, he’s not saying give up on those people, he’s not saying don’t ever spend time with them, He is saying have some Godly sense not to be influenced by the wrong people--beware of smooth talk; watch out for those who look like they are talking about truth but who really aren’t; watch out for people who say they have your best interests at heart but don’t really have your back. He’s saying remember to always be seeking the truth with the help of the Holy Spirit and keep your eyes fixed on the prize (that’s Jesus Christ).
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